It’s an overused mantra that working in golf means you don’t get to play as much golf, and truthfully I think it is a bunch of bologna. I just need to be more proactive about it. Book that tee time. Commit when a friend asks if I can play and figure the rest out later. Choose my spots wisely knowing that summer does get jammed with work but the fall is ripe for multiple rounds per week.

I only played 12 rounds in 2025. It is a sad fact to type out, but one that I won’t wallow in. Rather I use it as motivation and a bar to clear along the 10 goals I have laid out for myself in 2026.

I’m guessing some of mine may be some of yours as well.

1. Reach the lowest handicap of my life

I was on a boat in St. John this summer when a random, drunk man asked me what my handicap was. I made a crude joke before telling him that I was a scratch. He moved his sunglasses to the brim of his nose, revealed his crossed eyes and asked me to get specific, so I said I was a plus-1.

He then told me, “Go fuck yourself.”

Those days are long gone now as an influx of rounds late in the year saw my handicap move to the other side of the county line where the common folk live. What is odd is I think I am the best golfer I have ever been in that I can hit more shots, make more putts and, in my mind, manage golf courses more effectively.

Unfortunately, that is not how I played this year. We were aggressive in spots where we should not have been. We turned birdie opportunities into bogeys way too frequently and made the game so much more difficult than it needed to be.

This is the year where the strategy and the shot-making come together, I am sure of it. I know my game better than ever after transitioning from a left-to-right shot shape to primarily hitting a fade now.

We aren’t preaching aggressive swings to conservative targets because this is not the U.S. Open, but rather calculated aggression. Hopefully the result is getting a +2.5 next to my name.

It’s lofty, I know.

2. Play in a competitive tournament

I forgot how much fun competition is on the golf course, especially on the first tee. The nerves. The feeling that you might throw up. Your hands shaking ever so slightly and trying to hide it from others in the group. You hit driver because it has the biggest margin for error, not necessarily because it is the best club selection for the hole. You take a deep breath, close your eyes and let it rip. Anything in the air is considered a success.

I want to play in a competitive event this year with real rules and real stakes. What that is going to be? I am not sure yet. I have a few penciled in like the Charleston Amateur or maybe the four-ball which is an easier entrance back into the arena. If all goes well maybe a USGA qualifier could be in my future.

3. Go on a golf trip with friends

It’s been a running joke for the past two years that my friends have gone on a golf trip without the certified golf guy in the group. Two years ago they went to Pinehurst without me and last year they decided to go to Myrtle Beach the week of the Masters.

That one honestly felt personal from a scheduling perspective.

It’s a bit of a free space on the bingo card because we are already locked in for trip in 2026 — Sea Island the week of the Valspar Championship — but it’s still nice to see one drop before taking on some of the more difficult shots.

I swear to God if something happens that weekend in Tampa…

4. Make a hole-in-one

A couple weeks ago I posted a swing of mine on Twitter that garnered 300,000 views and a bunch of comments from other golfers. Most were complimentary, but it was a negative one which stuck with me.

Wielding an 8 iron from roughly 160 yards, I flighted my tee shot on this par 3 from left to right with it settling just about 10 feet below the pin. It was one of those shots that turned out exactly how I envisioned it.

The commenter said I need to fix my aim. And you know what, I do.

This kind of goes against the whole “calculated aggression” thing I just wrote about, but I am going to make a hole-in-one this year. We are not backing down from pins. We are going straight at them on par 3s with the hopes of hooping one.

5. Play golf and hit shots

I keep going back to this conversation with Harris English before the cameras started rolling in Sea Island. I was lamenting to my producer about the state of my golf game and how my mind works on the golf course when Harris walked in and started to listen.

I discussed how I see a simple 170 yard shot with the pin tucked on the right and I see a million different ways to play it. Draw an 8 iron in there, flight a 7 iron, fade a 6 iron off the pin into the fat of the green so on and so forth.

This logic works when you consistently play golf, but when I hang up the sticks for 3 months and come in off the bench with the same mindset I get in a little bit of trouble.

I asked Harris, “Do you think like this?” to which he replied, “I like to think as little as possible on the golf course.”

At first, I thought I should do the same, but then I realized… I’m not a freaking PGA Tour player. Golf is so much more fun when you see shots, hit shots and pull off said shots.

6. Start fast

A round doesn’t start until a shape is penciled onto a scorecard and far too often that shape has been a square and not a circle. From there, the fight is all uphill and once another square gets added there is a snowball effect to it.

The goalposts shift and the goal of breaking par on the drive over to the golf course moves to breaking 76 or some other random number based on where I am in the round.

The reasons for the slow starts are all self-inflicted, of course. Zero warm up. Zero practice putts. Only stretching and a dynamic workout beforehand (I do some things right). This year, I will warm up properly in hopes of warming up quickly in my round.

7. Keep the main thing the main thing

I had a friend call me a “traditionalist” last month and I could not be more proud to bear the name when it comes to golf. I like to walk instead of taking a cart. I prefer not to drink (unless they can make me a mean martini) on the golf course. Music? No thanks, pal! I’m sticking to my guns in this regard in 2026 and keeping the main the main thing, i.e. the golf and the company.

8. Improve wedge play

It’s the part of the game that has really fallen off in recent years, and it sucks because it used to be my bread and butter. A quick look at my statistics (a small sample size, mind you) from 2025 compared to my long-term numbers gives us the following:

• Greens in regulation: 53% in 2025 | 66% overall

• Driving accuracy: 59% in 2025 | 53% overall

• Par-5 scoring: 5.03 in 2025 | 4.75 overall

Birdie percentage is slightly lower while bogey percentage is slightly higher which falls in line with, well, shooting higher scores. The culprit in the shifts of these statistics is my wedge play.

I am driving the ball as well as ever yet my par-5 scoring is up due to (1) poor course management and (2) poor wedge play as my green in regulation percentage has dropped drastically despite a hefty diet of wedge salads.

So, how do I plan on accomplishing this vague goal? It will be a two-pronged approach with the first goal forcing me to dial in my yardages (I currently don’t know how far my clubs go which is a bit of an issue) and the second forcing me to own the 10 seconds before the swing. Really think through the shot, what I want to do and how I want to accomplish it, and then after the swing return to the all the fun.

9. Learn more about the golf swing

Not knowing is such a luxury. I say that aware this is a bit of a double-edge sword in that I think I am a solid golfer because I do not have as much information as some of my peers, but I want to know everything about the golf swing because it is so interesting.

I’ve spent the winter reading through a few books on it with hopes of (1) getting better at my job, (2) being able to give friends more effective tips when they ask and (3) just learning more.

10. Start a video series

I have a YouTube channel with about 400 subscribers and it is just sitting there, so I wanted to test something out the other day. I decided to post a video of my swing on shorts and it collected almost 8,000 views — enough for me to consider if I have been underutilizing my personal channel.

Episodic content is what is really driving pages forwards these days — my favorite one to recently pop up is Tastebuds NYC — and so I started thinking about what a captivating, short-form golf series would look like, and I arrived at a possibility that I will test out in 2026.

In the golf space that can be somewhat difficult with how oversaturated it is, but I am not trying to be a YouTube golfer by any means, just a guy playing golf who has a camera recording him at certain points and consistently posting the same concept in hopes of a few people taking interest.

Some of it is for the better. Some of it is for the worst. And we are to blame.

Lost consists of six seasons with most of those totaling somewhere around 25 episodes. As you can imagine, not a lot is happening in all of those episodes — characters go on pointless side quests, the plot does not always advance, random people are killed off — but that was television back then and the era of binging had yet to exist.

Juxtapose that to where we currently stand and the dialogue surrounding a show such as Pluribus on Apple TV. I have yet to watch but I have it on good authority from some friends it is quality (especially given the writers and the people who worked on it), but murmurs of it being too slow have reverberated around the internet.

Viewers have complained that not enough is happening in each episode — the plot is too slow, the characters do not develop fast enough, and so on. Sensing a theme?

But what’s funny is that I bet some of those people who are making these points are the same people who would put Lost up there as some of the best television ever created. And both can be true because what we are often nostalgic for is the very best of what was. We forget — or at the very least suppress — everything else that, honestly, sort of sucked, i.e. all those bad TV shows!

Why am I saying this? Well, because I am at the time traveling portion of the series and am a little confused but also because as I look back on 2025 I am happy to reminisce on the highs but more so the lows — after all it is those lows that make for the better stories and better learning experiences.

But before we get into it, let me wish you all a very happy new year. I look forward to writing to you all in 2026 and am always appreciative of all of the support!

Favorite interview

On the plane down to Florida, I started to scroll through some old videos on my phone (as everyone does on planes) and felt proud of myself. For those around me that’s not a common occurrence, but I could not help it with some of the names that we interviewed in 2025.

Here is the list of those unlucky individuals: Jim Nantz, Derek Jeter, Kerry Haigh, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa, Maverick McNealy, Ben Griffin, Ryan Gerard, Matt McCarty, Joe Skovron, Harris English, Davis Love III, Andrew Novak, Brandt Snedeker, Johnson Wagner

Not bad!

Deciding which was my favorite was, of course, difficult but it was equally as difficult to not give the honor to Homa. He opened up about the state of his game, what he was working on at the time and was incredibly authentic. That word, authentic, gets tossed around way too much these days, but it is the only one which adequately describes Max when he’s talking. Something golf needs more of.

This is not real life

The PGA Show was the first time I had officially traveled for work and there were some serious nerves! I was at the Titleist booth waiting to talk to Nantz when my uncle — who is the Director of Golf at Athens CC — approached me and started to discuss the state of his mother (my grandmother).

She hasn’t been doing too hot for a while now, but leave it to my uncle to pour his heart out, discuss the current happenings and talk about our family dynamic amidst the chaos that is the PGA Show.

We are in the middle of this conversation when Nantz taps me on the shoulder and asks me if I am ready to rock. I oblige, my uncle hugs me goodbye and my preparation gets thrown out the window.

Should I act more professional? (yeah, ok sure)

One of the biggest bummers of the year came only a few hours later when I learned our CBS Sports golf podcast, The First Cut, was going to be cancelled. Here is how I received the news:

I finish my interview with Jeter (during which a crowd gathered around) and meet the decision maker in programming for the first time. He tells me the news and I think he is joking only for him to tell me that he is being serious. I fall to my knees and bring back Tebowing (for my younger readers, see the picture below) in one fell swoop. I still think I could have been even more dramatic in hindsight.

These guys are really freaking good

In early February, I was invited out to Tucson, Arizona to play in a Champions Tour pro-am. I was paired with Stewart Cink — who ultimately went onto win the 2025 season-long crown — and he proceeded to shoot 59 with ease. If a couple more putts dropped, he easily could have signed for a 57 or so. He could not have cared less about it.

It was some of the best golf I have ever seen in person. Unfortunately for him, it was outdone by Scottie Scheffler with the end to his third round at the PGA Championship later in the year where the stakes were, well, a little higher (but not by much).

This person definitely does not get my humor

Davis Love III and his team of misfit toys decided to move an overhanging tree to the right of the tee box on No. 6 at TPC Sawgrass. When I tell you it was the talk of the town, it was the talk of the town.

So, having to see what all the hoopla was all about, I struck up a conversation with the volunteer manning the hole as she had done the last handful of years. She was oblivious to the new tree and as such I told her of the discourse online and that she should expect protestors once the tournament started.

She thanked me and proceeded to tell the rest of her fellow volunteers to prepare.

@pmcdonaldcbsI think I might be into this??! #pgatour #golf #golftiktok #pga #playerschampionship

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Welcome to the league moment

Thursday morning of the Masters, we strolled down to the par 3 course where our on-air set was waiting for us. We were scheduled to take part in the 9 a.m. hit for CBS Sports HQ and they wanted to go three wide — Rick, Mark and myself.

There was an unsaid hierarchy — this was my first Masters after all — so I fell in line. I spoke last in the rotation which was not the end of the world, but we were also a microphone short. Our crew only brought two from the Final Four and were frantically searching for a third.

All they could find is one which was shaped like a penis, and the crew insisted I stay in this hit and not bow out. The entire time Mark was whispering sweet nothings into my ear about the shape of my microphone and…uhh… where I could stick it only for producers to pick up on it and blame me!

Luckily, I ain’t no rat.

Am I supposed to be here moment

Trying to find an angle to watch Rory McIlroy come down the stretch at the Masters was a fool’s errand. I ditched him following his second shot into the par-5 15th and instead caught the coattails of Justin Rose who was surging up ahead. I joined right in time to see him miss his par putt on No. 17.

Anything around No. 18 — yeah, good luck pal.

So, instead I made the trek to the clubhouse to watch the action where the Lowry family and the Fleetwood family had a couple of tables with green jackets filling out the rest. It was one of those times where I felt totally out of place, and even more so when Rose emerged from the locker room and bumped into me on his way to the playoff.

I stood firm for what it’s worth.

Favorite podcast

There were a lot of good ones, but I keep going back to the livestream Wednesday before the U.S. Open. I joined around the 13:15 mark and let it rip (and surprisingly made a lot of good points in hindsight).

Worst airport lounge

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) for the sole reason that a woman was learning a new language on Duolingo out loud without headphones. Society is crumbling. Hug those close to you. Say I love you.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that on air

“I’ve never seen a sniper rifle on the first tee at a golf tournament before, so I guess you could say the stakes are a little different,” he said when asked to give a description of the environment at the Ryder Cup.

A grown man dressed as a pirate.

That was the first sight I laid my eyes on as I pulled onto St. Simon’s Island for the final PGA Tour event of the season. It was not one I was expecting, but it was one which put me in the right frame of mind for one of the weirder juxtaposition of stakes and energy in perhaps all of sports.

The reason for my visit was to shoot a new interview series for Golf on CBS, and while my job was not on the line (famous last words) like some of the golfers playing in the RSM Classic this week, there was still pressure to meet the moment.

So, naturally I began my ventures on this seaside island at a coffee shop. It was Tuesday morning, I had just zipped down from Charleston in a record three hours in a car that is begging to die and I needed to (1) obtain additional caffeine before the workday started and (2) pee.

I tried to make that more eloquent, but I could not find the words to capture, well, peeing after a long drive. Few things better.

Wake Up Coffee Company was recommended by a friend and that is all it takes to get my business. I rushed through the doors, past the register and straight into a fork in the road — one bathroom to the left and one to the right.

I knocked on the left door and heard someone struggling in there — physically, emotionally, psychologically, etc. — and after this person let out a yelp of sorts, I decided to use the empty one on the right. Could I have just skipped that first step in hindsight? Yes, but alas no one is perfect.

Out walked a PGA Tour player (who is no longer a PGA Tour player after this week) and a respectful nod was given. He had just won his battle, but unfortunately his war was far from over.

We got to the golf course, set up (and by set up I mean awkwardly stand there and ask if the crew needs help to which they reply no. It’s a delicate dance of showing you are willing to lend a hand but not flying too close to the sun where you actually do, although I eventually did when we deconstructed the set), and our subjects began to roll through.

There’s always a sense of unknown with a new project. Even as I write this a couple days after the fact that unknown exists. Will it resonate with the target audience? Did we squeeze everything we could have out of our time together? What will the end product look like? Will we get another crack at this?

Those questions linger and weigh on the mind, especially when you know one of the conversations was, well, not the best! A few too many cooks in the kitchen, one too few talks about the vision of the project, lack of some equipment and suddenly you are on camera and things are moving…FAST.

We pulled up our bootstraps and marched on after a slow start. There’s some quality information in the talks that I am sure of, and the rest we will know when the pieces are edited (the first one, heavily) and ready to roll. The positives far outweigh the one or two negatives (which is to be expected in the first run) and the concept is good so I am excited to see how things shake out.

As is typical with me during days like this I forgot to eat. I’ve mostly avoided breakfast the last year or so and when 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. is blocked for work, that means you are not eating until 3 p.m.

Southern Soul has been a staple on the island for years and I can see why. As an original Guy Fieri fan (before he went full-on commercial and started to lose weight like a fraud — if you are a food guy you need to have that borderline “he might die from eating this cheeseburger” physique), I was pumped to check out a place he visited in his early days of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

The order was simple:

• Pulled pork sandwich with mustard BBQ sauce

• Brisket chili

• Grilled pimento cheese

• Diet coke

I reckon it was better than any BBQ I have eaten in Charleston, but then again I am not chomping at the bit to eat BBQ on a consistent basis. It’s the type of food I think you can get away with between once a month and once a quarter. If you have BBQ 4 to 12 times in a year, you have had more than enough in my eyes. Any more and you might be penciling in a new year’s resolution that will be ignored by the time the calendar flips to February.

Anywho!

That night a welcome party occurred, some serious gossiping coincided with it (my favorite!) and I went to bed very, very early. That rolled into the morning where I spent a little time in the media center, met with a couple of gents from The Agency and then walked a few holes with a player-caddie team to work off some of that BBQ.

The clock struck noon and back to Charleston I went.

As a whole, my time on St. Simon’s Island was worthwhile. It got a new project off the ground, got me thinking about a few future ideas from a different angle, got me out of my comfort zone at certain points and got me back in the golf groove after a month of coasting through the offseason.

Final ratings (1-10, 7 is not an option because it is a total cop out)

• St. Simon’s Island/Sea Island (it’s all the same to me): 8

• Wake Up Coffee Company: 6

• Sea Island Golf Performance Center: 9

• RSM Classic media center: 5

• Sea Palms Resort: 6

• Southern Soul BBQ: 8

• The Chick Fil A on the island: 3

• Sunrise: 4 (OK, I may have missed it by a few minutes)

• The man’s pirate costume: 10

The Opening Drive

For someone who preaches consistency in his everyday life, I have been inherently inconsistent with this newsletter.

I know!

If my math is correct, this week marks No. 32 of the calendar year and we are only on edition No. 21 of Status Update. Honestly, I thought it was worse than that, but we are going to take our licks and move forward. If you are willing to forgive my absence, then I am willing to forgive your [insert dark secret you may possess here].

As for what I was up to, well a little bit of everything. I went back home for a couple of weeks, celebrated a friend’s wedding and dashed off to St. John to celebrate some other accomplishments (not mine) that were worth celebrating.

Major championship season has come and gone, and I felt like it was time to let my hair down, take a load off and turn my golf brain off.

Commenter: “As if it is ever turned on!”

Zing!

We’ve got a big summer stretch upcoming in what is one of the better runs on the golf calendar in my opinion — FedEx Cup Playoffs, a new-look Tour Championship (meh), Ryder Cup selections, Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship and then, of course, the Ryder Cup itself which we are officially locked into going to.

I am hoping to interview each mayoral candidate during my time in the city (which may be zero given the logistical nightmare this event is going to be — that’s a conversation for another day).

I also hope you all realize that was sarcasm.

I’m not perverted, I’m just Italian.

Inside the Ropes

Ladies and gentlemen, he has done it. Cameron Young exercised his demon (deacons) and won his first PGA Tour event in his 94th start in his fourth season on the circuit. Young had previously held the most runner-up finishes (7) without a win in addition to 22 top-10 results.

The win will spark plenty of conversation (which we will get to shortly), but I want to touch on a surprising improvement in Young’s game which proved to not only be the difference this week but will also serve as one moving forward.

I was shocked, nay flabbergasted, nay downright jawsmacked (is that a word?) when I learned that Young ranks 10th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting this season. And that was before he gained over 10 strokes on the greens at Sedgefield Country Club. I knew he had improved drastically but not even a big ass brain like mine could comprehend the significant step he took with the putter in hand.

This has been combined with a down year in terms of ball striking, but I think you could chalk most of that up to injury. Ahead of the PGA Championship, Young was on the driving range with his caddie, his dad/coach and a trainer of some sort who were taping his wrist, hand and pretty much his right arm as he prepared for the second major of the year.

He was clenching his fist, trying to move his wrist properly and just couldn’t, but if you watched the Wyndham Championship then you would have noticed that there was no tape in sight.

If you look at his numbers following the PGA Championship, Young has gained strokes significantly off the tee (not surprising) and improved relative to his early-season output in terms of iron play.

The results have backed this up — he finished inside the top 25 at the Memorial, successfully marched through qualifying for the U.S. Open and then nearly won the Canadian Open and the U.S. Open. One month later, he’s a PGA Tour winner.

Improvement in a deficient area and a healthy body — sometimes it’s as easy as that to boat race a PGA Tour field.

Outside the Ropes

It seems like every time someone from the U.S. does something (anything!) on the golf course the following Monday is filled with that player’s case to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team. I understand it comes with the territory, but the discourse is a little First Take adjacent.

Because of this, I have been slower to give out my Ryder Cup picks in an official capacity — I’m not quite sure what makes it official but here we are — but now that the calendar has flipped to August, we might as well rip the band aid off.

These are my Ryder Cup teams for what it is worth, not what I believe is going to happen.

Europe

1. Rory McIlroy

2. Jon Rahm

3. Viktor Hovland

4. Ludvig Åberg

5. Tyrrell Hatton

6. Tommy Fleetwood

7. Robert MacIntyre

8. Matt Fitzpatrick

9. Sepp Straka

10. Justin Rose

11. Shane Lowry

12. Rasmus Hojgaard

I have no idea who to put in the 12th spot here — I wouldn’t be shocked if Luke Donald goes with the other Hojgaard twin and runs back the exact same team from Rome — but there are a number of ways to go including a couple of Englishmen in Aaron Rai and Arry All.

I followed Rasmus during a practice round at the PGA Championship and it was enough for me to buy all the stock in the world in this kid, and I ain’t selling quite yet.

United States

1. Scottie Scheffler

2. Xander Schauffele

3. J.J. Spaun

4. Russell Henley

5. Bryson DeChambeau

6. Harris English

7. Justin Thomas

8. Collin Morikawa

9. Keegan Bradley

10. Chris Gotterup

11. Cameron Young

12. Patrick Cantlay

I’ve been saying it all year — there is just something I don’t trust about Ben Griffin. I think it may be the sunglasses and not seeing his eyes or the fact that he is the poster child for being an NPC/Wii character. With that now out there, he is going to win the Tour Championship and automatically qualify for the team much to Europe’s delight.

I do like (don’t love) some of the partnerships from the dozen players above:

• Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley (top two players in the world)

• Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay (Cantlay is playing better than suggested)

• Bryson DeChambeau & Justin Thomas (their games fit each other’s so well — Bryson’s driving and putting combined with JT’s iron play and short game. JT can handle the Bryson circus and would even thrive in it which can’t be said for the majority of the team)

• Cameron Young & Collin Morikawa (Young’s driving and putting with Morikawa’s iron play — Morikawa has been solid with Sam Burns, but now he gets a better driver).

• Chris Gotterup & J.J. Spaun (not a lot of playing time, but could see them being like Harman and Homa from Rome and a surprisingly fun team to root for)

• Keegan Bradley & Harris English (two tough dudes with all-around games)

I will say if Bradley chooses to bow out — which is up in the air — then things could get weird with Griffin, Jordan Spieth, Maverick McNealy, Brian Harman, Sam Burns, Wyndham Clark and Andrew Novak all nipping for that final spot. Griffin probably gets it, but I wouldn’t hate McNealy or Spieth getting the shout.

I will also say for all the screaming that the European team is better inside the ropes, I can’t say I agree with that sentiment. Outside the ropes is a completely different story, however, given the leadership advantage and continuity compared to the American’s.

The Week Ahead

The PGA Tour heads to Memphis for the first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Rory not being in the field is the big headline coming into the week, and it is a decision I agree with given his fall schedule that includes the final two rounds of the postseason and two events on the DP World Tour before the Ryder Cup.

Plus, Memphis in August? Come on.

Next!

It is business as usual on the home front as the Golf on CBS Preview Show will hit the Tube of You sometime Tuesday afternoon. There is a chance we have an interview with a PGA Tour rookie (and winner), but I would put that at 50-50 at the time of this entry.

We’ll be discussing what you would expect — Young’s maiden victory, Ryder Cup selections, FedEx Cup Playoffs and some picks for TPC Southwind (Henley by approximately 1 million).

Written material will be housed on CBS Sports dot com and a LIVE Show on CBS Sports Network will hit at airwaves at 1 p.m. ET on Friday to check in on all things FedEx Cup Playoffs.

I have been getting a ton of shit lately for my headphones (Beats - Fit Pro) so I am back to being a wired boy until further notice. I do like them, however, and even more so after Kamala Harris endorsed them last week on a Late Night Show that will probably be cancelled in the near future.

Woo! That’s a lot of politics talk this week.

See you all next Monday!

The Opening Drive

Well, consider myself warned. After weeks of championing as the face of slightly elevated LDL levels, another medical condition got the kid. Cross contamination — my arch nemesis — put me in a near body bag this past weekend as a local establishment failed to clean their work stations and trace amounts of nuts or peanuts or who the hell knows found its way into my chicken caesar wrap.

Is nothing sacred anymore?

This comes after I was on the front lines when Charleston shrimpers announced which restaurants have been serving fraudulent shrimp. I was ready to riot and hopefully pick up a new television, but alas it was not that type of press conference.

I have slowly but surely been getting back up to speed after another close call with the devil. Not today, son. Not today.

So let’s not dilly dally (time is precious) and dive straight into things.

Inside the Ropes

Brian Campbell has two top-30 finishes this season.

Brian Campbell has two wins this season after claiming the John Deere Classic.

The 32-year-old doubles as the shortest hitter on the PGA Tour and has won at two golf courses where distance off the tee can serve as a serious separator. Someone make this make sense to me.

Campbell now has more PGA Tour wins than Tommy Fleetwood, Cameron Young, Denny McCarthy over their careers and everyone not named Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Sepp Straka, Ryan Fox and Ben Griffin this season.

I mean heck Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and a whole lot of other big names haven’t even won this season. But Campbell has.

What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? Probably nothing. Jokes will be made about his candidacy for the Ryder Cup since it is a Monday morning and people need to get riled up about something, but that’s about it.

He locks in his status for another year on top of the two-year exemption he got for his win in Mexico and he banks another big check. Kudos to him.

Outside the Ropes

Like I mentioned last week it was a sleepy time in golf, and when that happens something that is not news typically becomes news. And be fair to this time of year, that could be said for roughly 75% of news.

We need stuff to talk about!

Without many big names in the field at the John Deere Classic, Max Homa was put in front of the microphone for a pre-tournament press conference and was asked about stepping away from social media.

Here’s what he said.

“The reason for that was just the vitriol you read online. It has become a safe haven for people who are angry themselves. It is quite absurd what people -- how comfortable people feel writing awful things. I stepped away a lot also from Instagram, but I feel like that's been a bit less crazy; although still not great, so I take my breaks from that. Yeah, I just -- if you wouldn't chose to sit around a table with somebody being that mean, you would always get up if you were there and someone was being rude to you. You would ask them to leave or you would leave. Twitter or X is an awful, awful place. It took me a while to catch onto how impactful that can be and how much of a waste of energy. I miss the connection with the fans, but nothing comes without, I mean, just so much hate and anger. There is a lot of love in there, too but unfortunately it really does get overwhelmed with the -- you can have one really bad one. I don't know if it's the gambling world or whatnot. I'm happy they can do it but it seems fun as hell in golf, but you get people -- people say some bad, bad things. People tell you you should die on the internet. Has nothing to do with not contacting people. I would love to connect with people, but I'd love to do it in person. I have yet to meet somebody in person that has anything even remotely mean. Yeah, it's a safe haven for assholes, for lack of a better term. Sorry PGA Tour.”

Don’t see anything wrong with the answer, but of course, you know who did…the internet! People commented on the video saying Homa became famous by being an asshole and ultimately proved his point without realizing it.

I noticed this first hand on some of the interview clips I had with Homa on my socials back in March when he was still very much in this slump, and I guess I never thought this is what he gets Every. Single. Time. he posts something, anything — golf related or not.

Just take a look at his Instagram story right now if you don’t believe me. The message remains the same for these people — Be Better.

The Week Ahead

It’s the best sports week of the year as golf heads overseas and Wimbledon heads into its quarterfinals. Country club bros unite! One day I will make the voyage over for the double dip — hopefully next if the big wigs from CBS Sports are still reading this and want to add me to the team for next year’s broadcast.

Admittedly, this is not only my favorite time due to the style of golf being played, but also because I get my afternoons back. As an early bird I am already up when these guys will be playing so it frees up a lot of time on my calendar.

I’ve also been going without coffee for the last week and I am keen to see how this recent development will translate. I think I feel more energetic without it? But I also may be hallucinating due to the lack of caffeine and constant banging in my head. Only time will tell.

The Open follows suit which is wild to say as it feels like yesterday that Hideki Matsuyama was winning The Sentry in the first week of the season. The calendar needs some serious re-working, some of which we may dive into next week if there is time (probably not).

The Opening Drive

Let me first say thank you to those who sent heartfelt messages regarding my medical condition. I can confirm that I have received your flowers, fruit baskets and medical advice that is backed by the research and development of god knows what.

It does not go unseen. If I have to be the face of slightly elevated LDL levels then that is a cross that I am willing to bear (in addition to the cross that is elevated LDL levels, of course).

Please, stop applauding. Seriously, come on you guys. I am just one man. Sit down. Sit down.

You might be wondering to yourself, “Is today Friday?” and unfortunately the answer to that is no. Instead, let me welcome you into the new week with a new edition of this newsletter on a new day.

It is actually embarrassing how much more sense it makes to deliver this on Monday mornings as opposed to Friday mornings. I do not know what I was thinking, but that could go for a number of things and may make for the title of my memoir one day. Let’s get into it.

Inside the Ropes

Aldrich Potgieter defeated Chris Kirk and Max Greyserman in a playoff at the Rocket Classic that may still be going on. I couldn’t go to bed last night as echoes from that Detroit fan screaming continued to ring my ear drums.

Good on Potbelly — he’s a fun guy to watch as he is the fastest (not in terms of running speed, he may actually be the slowest) player on the PGA Tour as he cruises in the low 190s ball speed with ease, he’s a good putter and everything in between is a total crapshoot.

He’s 20, though, and he’ll figure the rest of that out in due time and even without it, guess what, he’s a PGA Tour winner.

The main event was on LIV Golf this week as Bryson DeChambeau ramped up the crowds with multiple shouts of “I love you, guys” from on stage as if he had just polished a few off and was getting emotional with the fellas.

Don’t lie. We’ve all been there.

Brooks Koepka smashed a tee marker and withdrew, although he was eligible to come back for the team if needed. Not sure if he did to be totally honest — protecting the field and so forth, I am sure.

Patrick Reed was the big winner by week’s end as he beat Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey and some other guy in playoff. You don’t need to tell me twice that he needs to be at Bethpage Black, but I am also getting a little concerned that I am lost in the bit.

I received five text messages last night congratulating me on the victory from five people who did not even send me a happy birthday text this past winter. Makes you think.

Outside the Ropes

It’s kind of a strange time between media and players. Collin Morikawa went after Golfweek’s Adam Schupak for a throw away quote in his article about Morikawa’s caddie affairs.

That guy is putting up Love Island numbers (never seen it, but trying to be topical) — he’ll be at at least four by the end of the season

Padraig Harrington went after Roger Maltbie at the U.S. Senior Open because he did not help him look for his golf ball. Harrington later apologized. And all of this comes on the heels of whatever was going on with Rory McIlroy and that entire discourse from the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open.

“I'm not a journalist. I don't know. Report the birdies and bogeys, I guess,” Rory said at the Travelers Championship. “And obviously you have to -- the storylines sort of write themselves for the most part. But yeah, I certainly see the need for it and see the need for the platform. Like I've never argued that. But I just think nowadays there's so many different ways to consume sports and entertainment. It certainly isn't the only avenue to get your sports news and information.”

When Morikawa bit back, my first thoughts were (1) someone needs to stuff him into a locker, (2) everyone should experience a little bullying and (3) he seems like a guy who only played golf growing up — if you know what I mean then you know what I mean

Then I let things marinate a little bit and saw the reactions of those who were brave enough to share their opinions on the matter on social media. They lamented that Morikawa is too sensitive, that players have it easy these days, there was nothing wrong with the reporting and he needs to more or less shut up.

In the same realm of my thoughts, but not quite the same. And then I thought, “Wow these guys are being really sensitive! Now isn’t that ironic.” And then I slowly but surely found myself in Morikawa’s corner.

I settled on this stance.

Here’s a guy who has been polished since he turned professional — a sponsor’s dream. A good player who turned out to be great and has always cared about how he comes across. I’ve discussed this before.

Things aren’t going his way the last couple of years — probably for the first time in his golf career — and instead of shriveling up, he’s letting it fly! He’s finally letting his true thoughts come out of his mouth. He is finally …INTERESTING!

And we’re supposed to be upset about this? We’re supposed to criticize a player who is voicing his thoughts? This is not the corrupt golf media I know.

He saw something he didn’t like, and he did something about it. Could he have gone about it a different way, absolutely, but he didn’t and now we are talking about it.

So Collin, if you are reading this, kudos to you. Keep letting it rip, and remember, This is America!

Donald Glover, what are you doing here?

The Week Ahead

The PGA Tour heads to the John Deere Classic amid the Fourth of July weekend for what is sure to be a ratings bonanza. In order to help with the possible lull in interest, the PGA Tour reached out to yours truly to help with the tournament preview that should be on their YouTube page sometime Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Here’s the actual text exchange.

PGA Tour: Patrick, this is the least important event on our playing calendar, so we need the least important member of the media to help us with our preview coverage.

Patrick: You think I’m important?

PGA Tour: That’s not what we said.

Patrick: That’s so kind. I’ll clear my schedule.

PGA Tour: Just to confirm, that is not what we said.

Patrick: Confirming I can do it. Appreciate y’all. Talk soon.

On the home front we have an interview on our Golf on CBS YouTube show with a player in the U.S. Adaptive Open Championship which takes place at Woodmont Country Club (the site of my memorable run in the summer of 2013 in some random local match play tournament) starting July 7th.

I think — key word “think” — we are going to be doing more interviews with a regular cadence in 2026. The feedback has been great, and I’ve gotten a bunch of messages asking if I can do more. We’ve got another one on tap the week of The Open with Justin Hastings (the low am at the U.S. Open) who is in the field at Royal Portrush.

Outside that, it’s the holiday weekend, so I’m not going to stress myself too much. Beach, tennis, golf, tanning, lounging, reading, eating (foods that are good for my cholesterol) and so forth. You do the same.

Ta ta for now!

The Opening Drive

I’ve been thinking a lot about my own golf game in recent weeks as the kid has experienced a little bit of a resurgence with the clubs in hand. Carding a couple of scores of par-or-better in the last handful of rounds, I’ve come to realize that I am not better — in fact I am probably worse from a skill point of view — but just know how to play better.

I understand how to pick apart golf courses more than maybe ever — knowing where to miss, knowing what club to hit, when to be aggressive and conservative and allowing a round to come to me.

It may not seem like much, but it adds up over the course of 18 holes, and I can’t help but think my job is a large reason why I have been able to hone in this skill.

Ahead of the U.S. Open, I decided to walk the course with some players but more importantly with a couple of caddies to get their perspective on Oakmont and the strategy required around it. It was one of those experiences where a couple of years ago imposter syndrome would creep into the walk, but this time it was legitimately cool to be talking the same language — misses, aggressive nature of play, layup zones, carry numbers, etc.

I can’t overstate how helpful this is for analysis, writing and putting out on social media to educate those who may not be on the grounds. It allows one to share your observations, describe the situation and to get out of the way.

Now, I know this is a couple weeks after the U.S. Open and a lot has transpired since — a new PGA Tour CEO has been named, Collin Morikawa has gone after the media AGAIN (which I kind of love, honestly), Keegan Bradley seems like a surefire playing captain and I spoke with Jordan Spieth before he withdrew from the first event of his PGA Tour career (the boys had a field day with that).

But we’ll still talk about my U.S. Open experience because it was my first and because it will be my last major of the year. And because this is my newsletter. Mainly that.

We are hanging up the traveling bags until the Ryder Cup — so to my New Yorkers in the chat, I shall see you soon enough. Without further ado, here are the highs and lows from the U.S. Open.

Scheduling note: I am thinking of making this a Monday morning newsletter instead of a Friday morning newsletter. It just kind of makes more sense. TBD, but you’ll find out when I find out on that decision.

Personal Highlights

• The media center location was top notch — directly on the driving range and with a view of the 18th hole from just beyond where guys were hitting their approach shots

  

• Tuesday morning I was the first person out on property and decided to walk the golf course as they were cutting hole locations and mowing the fairways — I might have to make this my new tradition at tournaments

  • Just brought a few golf balls to check out slopes and got such a good understanding of the golf course

  • Good for social media stuff too!

    • Almost at 1500 TOK followers... nbd

• There was a local news media member who stole the show in terms of scripting — imagine Loudmouth golf, Malbon and J Lindeberg had a child and it still would not compare to his outfits

  • It was like playing Where’s Waldo every morning, and yes I made sure to compliment him every morning

    

    

    

• The guy next to me in the radio booth was doing local radio and compared TJ Watt’s contract situation to Rory’s media situation and although I don’t think he landed the plane, he at least got it airborne

• Water bottles were aluminum cans so it felt like I was downing silver bullets all week

• Great coffee — newly obsessed with flat whites (not good for LDL levels)

• Had some people sending me pictures of myself on TV — mainly gyms, I feel like our programming is only in gyms — which is always cool to see

• Walking the course with colleagues is always good fun and always so different depending on the person — some people talk about only golf, others prefer to talk about anything but, I’m usually somewhere in between

• Walked the last few with Phil in what could have been his final U.S. Open — what an odd scene it was as lightning was flashing in the distance, thunder bellowing across the turnpike and barely a soul was there to watch him fail to make the cut in spectacular fashion

  • I’ve always been a Phil guy — that hasn’t changed

    

• Cool to sit in on the Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller press conference — Miller still has his fastball for what it’s worth

• Great down the line view of J.J. Spaun’s final putt

  

• I love talking to the volunteers — met one woman who goes around the country on her own dime to volunteer majors (kind of a psycho move, which I told her). Then I met the husband of the head of investments for Dick’s Sporting Goods — we had a spirited conversation about their recent acquisition of Footlocker

• Unsure if this is highlight or lowlight, but I looked like a USGA official for like three days thanks to my friends at B. Draddy and Zero Restriction — had fans, volunteers and media member asking me for directions! I sent them on their way — whether it was the correct way is a different story

• Sungjae is a prince. Willy Wilcox is a king.

  

• Guy next to me on the flight home ordered the United charcuterie board as his snack — what a move, I’d never seen it in play!

• Was hanging out at the driving range when an unassuming man struck up a conversation with me — Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, what’s going on big fella?

  • Talked for 15 minutes about a whole lot of nonsense — his golf game, why he didn’t take the VP position, you know the light stuff

  • He lost me when he said his favorite golfer was Rory

Personal Lowlights

• I talked about this on a show but there is a trend going around the country where people are refusing to get up out of their seats on airplanes to let the window person out of the aisle. This happened not only on my way to Pittsburgh but also on my way home!

• Also we need to discuss lounge access and general airport etiquette because it is abysmal. The woman sitting next to me in the Pittsburgh lounge was doing a Duolingo lesson with NO headphones. She wasn’t even the worst offender as a guy was having a phone call on speaker phone just a few seats away cussing up a storm! Can people start acting like people again! Jesus.

  • I believe it was Japanese — I could understand one in every four words

• Received word of some very scary medical news on Monday — I have a slightly elevated cholesterol so if I don’t make it just know that I appreciate and love you all

  • I am all ears if you have any good tips — diet change and additional cardio have been added to the daily routine

• I sat a couple seats down from one of my favorite people — Josh Carpenter a.k.a. “The Ice Cream Man” — in the media center but the rest of the immediate row was filled with the worst people in golf media

  • Sports Illustrated social media guy who makes videos like “DID YOU KNOW…”

  • CNN who eventually hijacked my seat for one of their colleagues leaving me to sit in the bullpen in the back (which I am quickly finding out is much more preferred)

• It was weird to be the only CBS Sports personnel on the ground

• I had an event with B Draddy that I drove 45 minutes in the wrong direction for and ultimately missed. Oops!

• The media center was 30 degrees in the mornings (not an exaggeration)

• The ice cream selection was to die for but I did not partake since I have elevated cholesterol and I don’t want to die

• I walked with Sungjae Im and Willy Wilcox for the back nine of their practice round on Wednesday, so naturally being the idiot that I am, I tried to strike up a conversation with Sungjae’s team — one social media guy and his manager(?)

  • Yeah…they don’t speak English

  • “SHOES! YOUR SHOES! DO YOU LIKE YOUR SHOES!?!?”

    • Response: *points to shoes* “Shoes.”

      • face meet palm of hand

• There were a number of storms to roll through the area, and the media center bathroom required a brief walk outside. There was something up with the door where it held water like a bucket at a waterpark and when you opened the door it dumped all of it on you. Does that make sense? It doesn’t feel like I explained that properly, but nevertheless I got a bucket of water dumped on me a couple of times

• I was asked to talk about the whole Rory McIlroy, media back-and-forth on air, and it felt like I got scolded for not scolding McIlroy! Just a very weird time in media, especially as it relates to players too

• The hotel where I was staying was not located in the nicest location making it quite easy to stay at the course longer than maybe I should

  • One evening I took my watch off (not that nice of one, mind you) because I might have been a little nervous!!!

• Inside the ropes access needs to be examined (similar to lounge access honestly). There was an NBC spotter who was scrolling through TikTok as Scottie Scheffler was playing his final round and then there was this guy who I may never forget

  • It’s the 71st hole of the U.S. Open, Spaun hits his drive to 20 feet and then this kid approaches me and asks what is happening so you tell him — Spaun is leading by 1 with 1 to play

  • This kid (whose eyes are as red as the devil’s asshole, not that I would know) then proceeds to get so close to Spaun clapping what seemed at the time right in his face, screaming that this is his tournament. People looked at me like I knew this guy! Last time I talk to a stranger.

The Opening Drive

This time of year has me looking like Mr. Krabs sniffing for money — just blazing in every single direction trying to find my bearings. Between the influx of signature events, a pair of major championships sandwiched close together and the start of summer, there is not enough time in the world!

Because of that, somethings you just don’t care about and this week was a good reminder of what is important and what is not. For example, the move to get rid of starting strokes at the Tour Championship and turn it into a normal 72-hole tournament where the top 30 players compete.

Don’t care! It’s going to change next year anyways.

How about Charlie Woods — the son of one Tiger Woods — winning his first AJGA event?

Don’t care!

In fact, I would say the coverage of the latter event is a good barometer of who you should be following or not following on social media. If someone gave it legitimate coverage, give them the unfollow!

Weirdo alert. 🚨 Weirdo alert. 🚨

*car alarm sounds*

What is important is the U.S. Open and our voyage will start earlier than most as I head up to Traverse City, Michigan in the middle of next week to check out the Cherry Capital of the world and play a little golf. From there, we head to Pittsburgh where a couple of nights in the city will precede the week at Oakmont.

Yes, that is the site of the 2016 U.S. Open and the site of me shooting 76 in the summer of 2021 despite a triple bogey on the short par-4 2nd. “Hardest course in the world” give me a freaking break, pal. Where’s my sponsor’s exemption?

In total, it will be 12 straight days on the road, which means (1) I don’t know how I am going to overpack for this trip, but trust me, I will find a way and (2) my plants are going to die and I don’t know how to tell them about their impending doom.

It’s always exciting to rejoin the traveling circus that is professional golf and this time I am looking forward to do so with some different responsibilities. Given the U.S. Open is not a CBS tournament, the time on set is trimmed to, well, zero and some golf can actually be taken in.

This means more writing, more on-site (not just driving range on-site) coverage and mixing it up with players and colleagues. All this to say, it will be good fun! Or should I say good good fun!

Alright, that’s enough for this week. No reason to keep writing for the hell of it. I’ve got some golf to play and some golf to take in. And you do too! It’s summertime baby, stop reading this, get outside, run around and enjoy the good weather! It’ll be gone before you know it.

The Opening Drive

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all! Apologies for the delay, but who was going to read this Friday morning with the long weekend ahead? Surely, more of you who might be slightly hungover and with one final day of celebrations ahead will use those bloodshot eyeballs to scan the black mirror in front of your face.

Surely.

Let’s get the fun stuff out of the way before I make this newsletter all about, well, myself. The winner of this week’s giveaway is none other than Ryan Stevenson! Mr. Stevenson has been contacted, shipping details have been exchanged and now I will be selling his personal information online.

Hope it was worth it, pal! We got him some fun little trinkets, a hat and will be sending some additional B. Draddy PGA Championship logo’d gear his way once that package arrives on my doorstep.

I thank not only Ryan but the rest of you lot for continuing to read the nonsense I piece together. A number of people (dozens!) came up to me this week saying how much they enjoy the newsletter and the change of pace it provides from the typical golf writing.

Those interactions will never be lost on me because it all still feels surreal to me that I get to (more or less) watch and talk about golf for a living. I’ll try to do a similar giveaway in a couple (!!!) weeks for the U.S. Open.

We are going to run back the summary style used for the Masters given the positive feedback I received last month. Admittedly, the Masters and the PGA Championship are not on the same playing field, but it was an amazing week and one I do not take for granted.

There were plenty of laughs shared, plenty of good work done and plenty to catch up on. So without further ado, here are the personal highlights (and unfortunately the lowlights) from my week at Quail Hollow for the 2025 PGA Championship.

Personal Highlights

• Talking my way into getting a player support badge

• Monday with no fans on the grounds

• Dinner on Monday was at a spot called The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, and it sounds as insane as the menu was — pick any type of food you can think of and some variation (or combination) was on the menu which featured size 4 font and items on both the front and back

• The NBC Golf Channel team sat at the table next to us and were discussing statistics, historical implications of the week ahead and storylines — let’s just say our tables were on completely different wavelengths

• Saw Sergio’s Fireballs get-up in person, and it did not disappoint

• Checked out Moosehead Grill on Tuesday night — fantastic wings and fantastic decor. My type of place.

• Ran into the practice round of Ben Griffin and Ryan Gerard who both had great weeks — talked with Gerard’s father for a bit before gravitating towards the man who was holding court on the other side of the green

• That man was Mark Immelman who introduced us to the crew including Dottie Pepper

• We caught up with them and the Rory McIlroy’s practice round group that included Rasmus Hojgaard (buy all the stock you can), Tom McKibbin and Keita Nakajima (he gave me a polite nod sensing I too was from the land of the rising sun)

• Harry Hall’s whole shtick (what the fuck is in that backpack)

• Ran into someone I hadn’t seen since middle school! How cool is that!

• Our set was located on the driving range which was so much better in terms of location, and we got to see some goodies from Hideki Matsuyama speed training after a missed cut to Max Homa grinding after his third round

• Got to watch Scheffler’s warm up before his final round when he was trying to figure some stuff out with his alignment

  • SPOILER: It took him 9 holes to figure it out

• Always appreciative of who I get to share the chair with (Rick, Mark, etc.) but Michael Breed is a national treasure

  • If you walk around like you own the place and give a compliment, no one will question you

• The work from the PGA was better than the work from the Masters for whatever reason — not being my first, not needing to run around as much and knowing what to expect — and I am hopeful it will only continue on this trajectory

Personal Lowlights

• Walking into the media center and being told they did not have a desk for me (Oops!)

• Because they did not have a desk for me that meant I was not allowed to eat in the media center — there was a scan in, scan out situation and the one time I entered from the exit (whoa now!) I chickened out when I was questioned

  • I am still operating at a caloric deficit

• Getting stuck on the golf course during a torrential downpour

• Got Greek yogurt all over my navy slacks (one of many pairs I own, mind you)

• Watched three holes of golf on Thursday which included two water balls from my one and done selection, Xander Schauffele

• Getting ripped on by the crew for not knowing who Nostradamus was

• Saying “belly in his fire” instead of “fire in his belly” on air

  • Happens

• Introduced myself to Brad Faxon, and he goes “Yeah, I’ve definitely seen you around.”

  • Survey says…"Doubtful”

• 74% sure the man next to us in the media center went to the bathroom at his station

  

• Was asked “Did you go to J School?” on multiple occasions to which the questioner often scoffed at me when I said “No.”

• “The big boy is running hot.”

• The whole shuttle system

  • I hated it

• The whole shuttle system

  • It needed a second entry

• I walked into the golf course on Saturday and thought to myself, “Yeah, I can see how Scottie Scheffler got arrested last year.” given the number of people who believe their word is the gospel — volunteers, security, police officers, tournament officials. By the end of the week I had had enough of those authoritative figures

• There are going to be some photographs and video promos that come out shortly, and I just need to get ahead of it all and let you know that I had no say in the matter

The Opening Drive

I just realized I forgot to send a newsletter last week. Hand up, that one is on me. I’ve been busy, people! I’m sure you all can understand. Life gets in the way sometimes —there’s been a couple weddings, some more golf being played (not well, mind you), run-ins with old friends and now all of a sudden we are on the doorstep of the second major championship of the season.

While we are on the topic of forgetting…I also forgot I was going to do some giveaways for the tournaments I travel to. Well, I guess you could constitute what I did for the Masters as a friends and family giveaway, but this time we will open it up to the public.

I don’t even think half of the people I sent merchandise to are subscribers…Some “friends”, I guess.

This newsletter is surprisingly growing despite my best efforts, so to give yourself a better chance at whatever I scrounge together at the PGA Championship any referral will be seen as an additional entry in said drawing.

Now, that we have that out of the way, let’s answer the next question I have been getting asked nonstop, which is “Where can I watch you?”

Takes a deep breath.

Here’s the full schedule which can be watched on the CBS Sports app, CBS Sports HQ, CBS Sports Network and Paramount+ over the weekend before coverage hits the main CBS broadcast. I’m obviously not on during the entire programming and won’t be on some of those hits depending on how the schedule shakes out, but this gives you a general idea if you want to go through the misery of watching me yap.

As for those who will be in attendance, you will be able to find me on the driving range most of the week! I think gen. pop is allowed on that path which we will be set up near, so feel free to heckle away.

So, we’ll have those digital responsibilities in addition to some podcasting (Golf on CBS YouTube) and plenty of writing (CBS Sports dot com). Going to be a bit more frosty on the socials as well since we are one of the few (the proud, the Marines) who are able to film inside the ropes before the tournament, so there are some ideas I have up my sleeve. Those videos will be on the usual mediums.

Onward to the actual tournament and the actual players!

Refer a friend

PGA Championship talking points to impress your friends with

There were again some kind words when I did this at the Masters, and so we will keep doing this for every major championship. We’ll keep this version relatively player centric since Quail Hollow is a golf course we see every single year.

PGA Tour venues should not be used for major championships! Join the revolution!

Scottie Scheffler (4-1)

• Seeks third major championship and first away from Augusta National

• Tied PGA Tour scoring record in last start out which was a win at the Byron Nelson

• Has never played at Quail Hollow (!!!)

• Question: Does the lack of course history hinder his chances?

Rory McIlroy (5-1)

• Completed career grand slam at the Masters for fifth major victory (tying him with Brooks Koepka)

• Has won four (!!!!) times at Quail Hollow including last year

• Major win ties him with Nick Faldo for most among Europeans

• Question: Where is he at just one month removed from completing a lifelong dream?

Bryson DeChambeau (14-1)

• Has factored on Sunday in 5 of last 6 U.S. majors

• Runner-up last year

• Would be third player to win U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open and PGA Championship

  • Tiger and Jack are the other two

• Won his last start at LIV Golf Korea and probably the smart bet this week

• Question: Which iron play will show up?

Jon Rahm (16-1)

• Might stink (just kidding)

• 19 straight top 10s on LIV Golf (no idea what this means)

• Would be third leg of career grand slam

• Question: How does this affect Legion XIII’s legacy?

Xander Schauffele (18-1)

• Defending champion

• 12 straight top 20s in majors

• 5 straight top 10s in majors

• Finished runner up at Quail Hollow in 2023, 2024

• My pick to win (subject to change)

• Question: Can he drive the ball like he did at Augusta?

Viktor Hovland (20-1)

• Quietly looking better and better by the week

• Serious factor in last two PGAs

• Strong history at Quail Hollow

• Question: When will his short-game deficiency bite him in the ass?

Ludvig Åberg (20-1)

• Was injured at last year’s PGA

• Didn’t get to play Quail Hollow last year because of said injury

• Outside the run at the Masters, play has been uninspiring since win at Genesis Invitational

  • (still think he plays a role in this championship)

• Question: Will his iron play be good enough?

Justin Thomas (22-1)

• Will be popular as he won 2017 PGA at this site

• Transformed from bottom-11 putter to top-30 putter this season

• Broke three-year winless drought with RBC Heritage victory

• Question: Can he drive the ball well enough?

Collin Morikawa (22-1)

• Winner at TPC Harding Park

• Finished T4 last year after playing in final pairing on Sunday

• 5 straight major top 20s

• Hasn’t won since Fall 2023

• Question: Will the media follow him to the autograph zone when he opens with a 74?

Joaquin Niemann (30-1)

• Three wins in last seven LIV Golf events

• Zero top 15s in majors

• Undisputed world No. 1

• Question: How does he react if he gets into contention?

Brooks Koepka (30-1)

• Three wins in last seven PGA Championships

• Forgettable run since 2023 PGA Championship win

• Now tied with Rory for most majors in this generation

• Question: Does Rory’s win light a fire under his ass?

Lot of ass talk

Tyrrell Hatton (35-1)

• English

• Angry elf

• Good bet to finish top 20

• Pick to win (The Open)

• Question: Can his game keep up with the firepower of the favorites?

Hideki Matsuyama (40-1)

• Second in terms of iron play at the Masters

• Played in final pairing with JT in 2017 PGA

• Has lost strokes putting in 5 of 6 tournaments

• Question: Can he make enough putts?

Tommy Fleetwood (45-1)

• Also English

• Happy elf

• Good bet to finish top 20

• Pick to win (The Open)

• Question: Is his first U.S. win going to be a major?

Patrick Cantlay (45-1)

• Scratching at the backdoor

• 8 top 25s in last 11 majors

• Winless since Summer 2022

• Question: Why strain yourself when T13 still cashes six figures?

Jordan Spieth (50-1)

• Seeking career grand slam

• Four straight top 20s is longest streak since 2021

• Shot 62 Sunday of Byron Nelson — capping off his best ball-striking performances in seven years

• Can contend with a ceiling iron performance

• Question: How long do you have?

Random players to use for your office pools so you don’t bother me next week

• Patrick Reed (80-1)

• Sergio Garcia (80-1)

• Robert MacIntyre (100-1)

• Keegan Bradley (120-1)

• Keith Mitchell (150-1)

• Michael Kim (150-1)

• Denny McCarthy (150-1)

• Davis Thompson (170-1)

• Andrew Novak (180-1)

• J.T. Poston (200-1)

• Kevin Yu (300-1)

• Matt McCarty (400-1)

• Gary Woodland (400-1)

• Davis Riley (500-1)

• Michael Block (EVEN)

Stat of the week

Top-15 finishes in major championships

• Michael Block: 1

• Joaquin Niemann: 0

The Opening Drive

I’ve been thinking about bias (not Len, but RIP) a lot lately, especially as it relates to professional golf and those who cover it (i.e., the industry in which I find myself). In a world of hot takes, 24/7 news cycles and the race for clicks, big media has forced itself to operate within a realm filled with biases.

Even believing yourself to be unbiased is, in fact, a bias in itself. I believe it is called the bias bias, although someone will have to fact check me on that one.

Whenever I say the same word consecutively, my mind instantly drifts to the Belushi’s SNL skit. Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger.

The point is: Everyone is biased. Whether you want to believe it or not, you are. Sorry, pal. You aren’t special. And bias is just another word for a blind spot, so how do we get rid of them?

I think Justin Thomas’ recent win at the RBC Heritage and the subsequent commentary (or recency bias) provides a great opportunity to dive even deeper into this subject.

Golf Channel’s midafternoon show, Golf Today, had a segment where Eamon Lynch stated that he believed Thomas to be the greatest American golfer of his generation. Others have followed up in saying Thomas is back to being a major championship contender.

They use information which helps their case because why wouldn’t they? That’s what you’re supposed to do.

Thomas has 16 PGA Tour wins, two major championships, a Players win, a reign as world No. 1, a strong Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup résumé and a FedEx Cup crown. Not too shabby.

After a brutal year on the greens (his Achilles heel), Thomas is now 24th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting. He is gaining nearly 0.50 strokes per round with the putter in hand — the best mark of his career, even better than his 2017 season. It was instrumental in breaking his three-year winless drought.

He returns to Quail Hollow next month for a major championship he has been stellar at. Twice a winner of the PGA Championship, Thomas’ trek to Charlotte represents the first time the major has returned to the Queen City since…you guessed it…Thomas’ 2017 PGA victory at Quail Hollow.

With this information, you’d be dumb not to agree with both of the assertions above, but this is only half the picture. What about the other players? What about Thomas’ other skillsets? What about his major championship form as a whole?

Brooks Koepka has five major championships. Jordan Spieth may have less wins (13) but he has one more major (and three different ones at that). And then there is Scottie Scheffler who has 13 wins including two majors, two Players Championships and an Olympic gold medal. And oh yeah, he’s been the world No. 1 for the last 100 weeks (recency bias?).

With just a little more color, the question goes from “Is Justin Thomas the best American player of his generation?” to “Is Justin Thomas a top-three American player of his generation?”

Both answers may be no!

As for his major championship prospects, consider me a skeptic. Now, I should warn you, I may have some biases of my own against Thomas. I like that he wears his emotions on his sleeve, but he has a tendency to come across as a wee bit of a punk! Dare I say cringey. I know my European readers agree with me there!

Thomas’ major record, of course, includes two major wins. It also includes two course records (Erin Hills and Winged Foot), but it also has been putrid as of late. In his last 11 major starts since his 2022 PGA win, Thomas has five missed cuts and five finishes outside the top 30.

Selection bias!

His lone top 10 came at last year’s PGA Championship, which does not count because it was held at Valhalla. No bias there, simply stating a fact. U.S. based majors have a way of testing one’s floor and Valhalla was the rare exception where instead the ceiling was looked at.

Now, I will give Thomas some credit in that his floor was recently redone. The middle rounds of 69 in Hilton Head were performances I have been looking for out of him for quite some time. They served as crucial links in a four-round chain. Too often, Thomas had one link that was weak and snapped.

While his floor is in much better shape and received a new coat in the form of a renewed confidence on the greens, it may be the wrong finish for major championship golf.

It is just a slightly different shade than the rest of the house.

Putting leads to wins on the PGA Tour, but it doesn’t at major championships. Instead — much like stints in church parking lots as a youth — major championships are driving tests.

Just look at some of the most recent winners. They are all elite drivers, or at the very least, trending towards elite. Rory McIlroy. Scottie Scheffler. Bryson DeChambeau. Xander Schauffele. Jon Rahm. Brooks Koepka.

Yes, I omitted the Hamburgler’s win at LACC. Call that whatever bias you want.

Thomas is experiencing the worst driving season of his career. He is ranked outside the top 100 in strokes gained off the tee and in the bottom half of distance from the edge of the fairway (i.e. BIG misses). He is sensational from the fairway in, which is why at a golf course like Harbour Town where the driver is taken out of his hands (and his peers’) he has a great chance to find success. And he did.

But at a big ballpark where drivers are required? Where big misses are penalized (unlike the PGA Tour)? I’m still hesitant to push him to the top tier of contenders and past players like Ludvig Åberg and Collin Morikawa.

Or maybe I’m biased to, but at least now you have all the information.

The Opening Drive

Alrighty. Sit back and relax because this is going to be a long one. A few days removed from the Masters, I have my feet underneath me in both a literal and figurative sense.

Traveling to tournaments are always a highlight but being my first major championship and my first Masters, this one obviously came with a slight uptick in the all important, well, importance factor.

My favorite part of any tournament is meeting other media members. It feels like a Hinge date or something (I wouldn’t know) where you only know them from their online presence and you know that they know you and you know them, but you still don’t know if you should introduce yourself or what the proper protocol is.

You know?

Alas, we move on.

I think one of the most shocking aspects of the week was not the golf course or the food prices or anything people tell you to look out for, but rather how big the entire event is. Not the tournament, the event.

It is the Super Bowl of golf.

Non-golf media infiltrate Georgia and are suddenly experts. Brands have parties every night. No expenses are spared. It is so much larger than a big-time PGA Tour event. It is hard to fathom.

It made for an exhausting early part of the week — especially combined with a 3 a.m. wake-up call on Tuesday — but a fun one at that.

I debated for awhile how I wanted to go about this recap, and even wrote much of it out, but instead of typing through an entire week of memories and hilarious/embarrassing run-ins, I figured bullet points would be the easiest way for all to consume.

So, we’ll do that — a full list of highlights and lowlights (not in any particular order) from my first Masters.

Please enjoy. I know I did.

Personal highlights

• Legendary golf writer Jaime Diaz introducing himself to me, calling me a ball-knower and letting me know he watches all of my stuff on CBS Sports

• Telling Niall Horan to “get out of the way, pal” when Nick Dunlap nearly killed us and was trying to play his way back onto his hole

• Leaving His Excellency (Saudi PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan) hanging when saying goodbye to my new friend, the founder of Greyson clothing

• Seeing Sam Darnold’s head in person (it’s huger than huge, hugest?) — unfortunately it distracted me from seeing Josh Allen with him

• Introducing myself to a woman from the West Coast of Ireland and her calling me a “thoroughbred”

  • Put it on my tombstone. This is probably my No. 1. Didn’t have the heart to tell her about the Japanese and Italian blood in me.

• Seeing Rory’s shots in person on No. 15 on both Saturday and Sunday — everyone on the right side of the fairway was convinced given the loft and length of the club that he was laying up in the final round. You thought!

• Seeing Use Golf Facts in person — she was just drifting along in the wind like a stray pine straw as P Reed made his charge

• Watching the final moments of the Masters in the grill room with green jackets and the Lowry and Fleetwood families with the doors open to hear the sounds of the patrons

• Justin Rose rushing through me on his way to the playoff as I blocked a doorway in the grill room. He was coming from the locker room, although no one was certain why he was in there for so long

  • It was debated what he was doing in there — likely a run to the loo — but we concluded he was giving himself positive affirmations in the mirror… “You are Justin Rose.”

• Getting a front row seat to Ludvig Åberg and Joe Skovron talk through a shot on No. 14 while in contention on Sunday

  • Skov has the best bag in golf, and it’s not even close

• Watching Spieth lose his mind on multiple occasions

• Hanging out with all the First Cut boys in person

  • RIP

• The press building

  • They really do spoil us, not only are the workstations incredible, but the full-service restaurant, grab-and-go and facilities are all top notch

  • They station people in the bathroom to continuously clean up. It is both impressive and depressing if I am being honest. Some serious Mr. Deeds shit.

    

• Getting to do on-air hits from on-site. There is a different energy when doing something in-person. It’s 1000 times better. Having an audience while doing it by the driving range was also sweet. Felt much more important than I am.

• Hearing a member of the media say with a straight face, “Can someone cut a picture of Zach Johnson for the cover of our Moving Day story?”

  • There are like 4 different eras in the press building, and I have no idea how 75% of them make any money

• Seeing a spotter in full caddie attire sprint around the corner on No. 18 on Sunday when Åberg hit his tee shot off a concession building. I had never seen that look of terror in a man’s eyes before. They don’t lose golf balls at Augusta National, and the majority of patrons straight up thought it was a bit. Why would a ball be this far off line?

• Seeing the John Daly Hooters mayhem in person

  • It’s straight out of the Trump playbook. RIP to Hooters.

• I had a 10-minute debate with a shuttle driver about sunrises vs. sunsets. We landed on opposite sides

  • Always sunrise

• Also debated whether the Hooters girls were flown in for the week. Some surprising talent for Augusta, Georgia

  • This conversation was not with the shuttle driver

• Got stuck in a debate with patrons what tier celebrity Luke Combs is after a run-in with him

  • Still couldn’t tell you the answer

• Meeting Ken Griffey Jr.

• Seeing a Bryson fan go full surrender cobra in the 11th fairway

  • Brooooo…what the fuck!

• After years of working together, Mark Immelman finally followed me back on Twitter

• Wednesday morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat at the practice range for an hour — Rory and Phil were warming up next to each other back-to-back. Phil placed his gaudy bright green HyFlyers bag real close to Rory (likely on purpose) and they went through their bags while occasionally looking over their shoulders to check out the other guy’s numbers. It was the most fun I have had watching someone(s) on a driving range

• The blueberry muffins — favorite quick bite of the week

Personal lowlights

• Jaime Diaz asking if I played high-level golf (professional, collegiate, etc.) and responding that I was once No. 1 on my high school team to which he replied with this look…

  • I then proceeded to extend my hand and he shook it with his left since he had papers in his right. Nailed it.

• Running into CBS golf rules official, Mark Dusbabek, telling him I was a big fan and being completely ignored

  • I’m not even a fan, I don’t know why I said that

• This piece of hair

  • I felt this piece of hair swoop across my forehead while on air, and I made the executive decision to just let it be…how bad could it be! Another fatal mistake. I can still hear my producers laughing at me.

• Not knowing who J.R. Smith was amidst a sea of white people in golf polos

• Getting double charged for a hoodie in the Masters merchandise building

  • I concluded running a register for an entire day in the Masters merchandise building would be a sufficient fantasy football punishment. Although they had smiles on their faces, those kids were begging to leave. It’s non-stop action and non-stop stress.

• Being forced to use an … interesting shaped microphone for an on-air hit

  • It was the first and last time it was used all week, although I am still getting shit for it

• Talking at dinner how I believed I was going to win the Masters media lottery to play Augusta National on Monday only to find out the drawing was that afternoon and I did, in fact, not win

• Taking an hour to get into the Masters bouncing from wrong entrance to wrong entrance

  • I caught up with my B. Draddy guy Wednesday morning for a cup of coffee across the street of Augusta National and then proceeded to go to all the wrong gates

  • Use “McDonald20” at checkout

• On a shuttle ride from the content center to the press building one morning, this woman I was sitting next to pointed out every single tree and said “wow, isn’t that beautiful” but couldn’t name a single one of them. It was a 10-minute ride, and she didn’t miss a tree. So. Many. Trees.

• Seeing a man go trash can diving for plastic cups

• The patron wondering why R-A-I was allowed to use his initials on the leaderboard

• The apple slices

• Downtown Augusta — walked to dinner one night and had four homeless men approach me. Not the nicest! Although, I held conversations, so may have been my fault in the end

• Lost a little steam heading into the weekend — some people commenting how tired I look. There wasn’t enough cold brew in the world!

  • Watched the all-22 and that whole “monotone” habit came creeping in a little which is unfortunate. Lesson learned, but exciting that I know I can be better. Gotta pace myself!

• The walk from the press building to our set at the bottom of the par-3 course

  • Imagine walking from the bottom of No. 10 to the top of No. 10 roughly 10 times per day. My ass does look great though.

• Some serious, serious jammage from my own people — words will be had!

• Found myself itching to podcast after every round

• The pair of socks I wore on Friday

  • Dress socks! What a bozo move!

• Getting called out online for wearing navy pants all the time

  • I have multiple pairs!

• Leaving a pair of pants in my hotel room in Augusta

  • Well, one less now

• The man who stuffed — and I counted as he was doing this — 14 (!!!) pimento cheese sandwiches into his backpack one evening

  • We need to bring back public shaming; No way those travel well

• My row in the press building had some serious body odor — lot of hefty boys, lot of heavy breathing

  • It’s never an ideal writing environment when your other senses are popping off like that

The Opening Drive

Although the Masters is right around the corner, I still won’t believe that I am going until I am actually inside the gates. Call it paranoia, call it trust issues, I don’t care, it’s just one of those things.

There’s obviously excitement about my first voyage to Augusta National, but there is much more gratitude. Family, friends, haters and losers of which sadly there are many and everyone reading this played some role, so let me start by saying thank you.

It’s going to be a loaded week, and one I am trying to prepare for as best as possible. The content machines are already fired up as we try to appease the SEO overlords, but some more fun stuff should be in store once I am actually on site.

There’s a slim chance of one very cool opportunity with someone synonymous with the Masters — I’d liken it to a heavy underdog price, to be fair.

Nights early in the week will be filled with parties and a substantial amount of schmoozing (which I am actually very excited for). And early week preparations will consist of sitting in on press conferences, figuring out the golf course, chopping it up with my fellow peers and providing some on-site perspective for The Eye (CBS Sports).

Unfortunately, I did not catch the invitation to the J. Lindeberg house despite my constant uplifting of Viktor Hovland’s outfits. That’s the one I am really bummed out about.

There will be some stories I write, which I will post to my socials (I am trying to get better about that). And, I’ve been experimenting with the Tok a bit more (dangerous, I know).

It’s been well received, but the thought behind it was (1) I no longer have a casual place like a podcast to discuss my thoughts, (2) no one else in golf media is really doing it and (3) given my ties I can post stuff others may not be able to, although at Augusta National that won’t be the case.

So, enter ya boy. Follow here. Swipe up. Sound off in the comments. Share with 100 of your closest friends. You know the drill. Sub. Sub. Sub. Smash the like button. Aaahhh.

I thought about putting together a special edition Wednesday evening newsletter with all my thoughts, stories, posts and all that, but I thought better of it. It’s going to be a busy, busy time, so let’s not make a commitment I can’t uphold.

It’s probably a good time to announce next Friday’s newsletter probably isn’t in the cards. Oops!

So instead, enjoy the golf! Enjoy the Masters! And to my college friends who decided to schedule our annual golf trip the weekend of the Masters, go to hell! Just kidding, but seriously I hope you have a miserable time.

Masters talking points to impress your friends with

I feel like I did this once before, and it was received with a lot of positive feedback (mainly from the 17 women who are subscribed to this newsletter; solid ratio, I know) so I am doing it again. Just a one-stop shop for what you need to know before the Masters. Easy enough! Let’s get into it.

• Rory McIlroy tries to become the 6th player to complete career grand slam in his 11th attempt

  • Can talk about a bunch of things here — first-round scoring, softer golf ball, swing changes this past fall, two wins before April, etc.

• Scottie Scheffler looks to become the fourth to go back-to-back at Augusta

  • Nicklaus, Faldo and Woods are the only three to do so

• Other grand slam considerations

  • Koepka, Morikawa and Schauffele could all add a third leg…pause…of the slam

• The race to three

  • Scheffler, Morikawa, Schauffele, DeChambeau, JT, Rahm and DJ all have two major championships…who will be the first to grab No. 3?

  • Added bonus: Schauffele can become the third player ever (Hogan, Woods) to carry three major championships simultaneously as he currently holds the Wanamaker Trophy and the Claret Jug

• American dominance

  • Seven straight major winners have come from the U.S. — longest streak since the late 70s.

  • All four were Americans last year — first time since the 80s

• No Tiger

  • Sucks he ruptured his Achilles, but kind of pumped about this if I am being honest. Hoping he gets a little spicy on social media like he has been lately

• Hurricane Helene

  • Wind may not swirl as much coming down the stretch since the storm took out some trees — some around Amen Corner, Nos. 15-16 as well

• Anniversaries

  • 10 years since Spieth

  • 15 years since Phil’s pine straw shot

  • 20 years since Tiger’s chip in

  • 50 years since Jack’s fifth

  • 90 years since Sarazen

• Your friend Patrick is on site

  • Can talk about my height (6 foot 1), solid hairline, incredible sense of humor, good looks and how humble I am

The Opening Drive

Next week’s edition of Status Update will be dedicated to all things Masters, so naturally that means this week’s will touch on all things simulator golf. You see, TGL wrapped up its inaugural season this past week as my Atlanta Drive took home the championship over those frauds from New York.

The final match had a eerily similar ending to the World Series. I don’t feel bad making the comparison since ESPN compared the environment at the SoFi Center to those at Stanley Cup finals and Saturday nights in Baton Rouge. Without a hint of sarcasm, mind you. I love it here.

With the season over, articles and think pieces about TGL’s success and future plans have started to roll out. There are some modifications I would like to see, but before we get there — if we ever do, not likely — the first part of that sentence needs to be revisited.

Because was TGL actually a “success” in Year No. 1?

It depends who you ask, doesn’t it?

For the players — yes, they got paid a ton of money. The winning team split up $9 million, all squads got some piece of the purse and that doesn’t even include the equity involved.

For those attached to the league tangentially — we touched on this already, but just about everyone is bumping elbows at the trough it seems — yes, they got paid with either money or access.

For the fans — it’s up in the air. Young kids seemed to love it. Golf nuts as well. The purists? Ehh, probably not so much. Between the media coverage and some of the claims made by those employed by the league, it gave off some major LIV Golf energy (LGE, for short).

For the investors — this is the interesting one. Alexis Ohanian took team ownership to David Tepper levels and more and more celebrities seem to get involved as the season went along. It’s the Ohanains, the Blanks and the Cohens of this little universe that I am talking about. Not necessarily the Kahans (who could use some good PR at this point because that Masters promo…WOOF).

The television numbers peaked, dipped and then clawed back a little. It seems to have plateaued at, let’s call it, an even 500,000. I think that’s fair.

TV numbers aside (I’m good not being involved in that sphere) everything has a sponsor attached to it. It’s not even TGL…it’s TGL presented by SoFi. The hammer, the recaps, the caddy technology — everything has some company paying for it. If you breathe in the arena, the league will find a way to monetize it.

I’ve been privy to some financial information of a team’s top line through some friends and the amount this specific team brought in is actually eye-opening. I can’t say how much here, so just text me for the deets.

Similar to the television figures, one has to wonder if these opportunities are at their peak. Will companies continue to shell out cash once the initial terms are satisfied? How does Tiger Woods (likely) not playing anymore affect this? How does TGL continue to drive enthusiasm to its product? Will people still care now that the initial shine has worn off?

I can only speak from my perspective, but I do think it’s an uphill battle for the league. I am the target audience after all — 20s, obsessed with golf, easily entertained — and despite forcing myself to try, I do not care about it outside of fulfilling my job obligations and firing off a tweet here and there.

There are more like me out there.

There are dozens of us!

Others may be starving for more and more golf content for whatever reason — need to fill airtime, need to fill downtime, need to fill bedtime, I don’t know — but between 14 leagues, the occasional exhibition and wanting to play more golf myself, I just can’t. I am plenty full as is.

Quote of the week

On Viktor Hovland’s Valspar Championship win: “It’s like he passed a test just guessing multiple choice answers.”

The Opening Drive

Hey guys, it’s been a couple weeks. That one is on me as the traveling bug and Players Championship plague got the best of me. Safe to say we have missed a lot in our time apart.

Rory McIlroy won the Players Championship (media members age 30-50 rejoice everywhere). My man, Russell Henley, won the Arnold Palmer Invitational (I am still rejoicing). And members of the PGA Tour hate the media!

Now we are talking.

For those not in the know, Collin Morikawa skipped his media obligations following his loss at the Arnold Palmer Invitational a couple weeks ago. Rocco Mediate blasted him. Brandel Chamblee blasted him. Paul McGinley blasted him. Long story short…he got blasted.

Morikawa was none too pleased about this because he is someone who prides himself on having a squeaky clean image. From the little time I have spent with him coupled with interviews and press conferences, he seems to be someone who believes he has the utmost self awareness. He knows how he comes across.

There is great irony in both those sentences.

The two-time major champion held a pre-tournament press conference last week where he fielded questions about his Arnold Palmer Invitational defeat (kudos to him for finally facing the music). During his time up on the stand, he proceeded to say he did not owe anyone anything (mainly the media in this context).

Morikawa let out a little laugh after his comments. Most — even those in the room — believed it was because it was light-hearted and innocent. I took it as an awkward laugh because he was actually telling the truth and was trying to break the tension.

Well, a couple days later the truth did come out. Morikawa stepped onto his soapbox, doubled down and looked directly into the camera to deliver the cringiest monologue in recent memory. He was shocked by the outburst by the media — all three of whom are former players, mind you — and could not believe the media did not follow him to the autograph zone following the completion of play at Bay Hill.

Sources say they were at the winner’s press conference. Zing!

People were up in arms about it and still even trickling into the week. Where I originally stood was a place of simplicity.

I generally do not care what Collin Morikawa does. His words or actions will have little effect on my life. He is a grown man. He can make his decisions. He can be upset and cry when the outcome is not what was expected. It’s only himself that he is hurting.

And for the record, it wasn’t just Morikawa whining. It was Rory. It was even Scottie to an extent which led to a wider #DISCUSSION.

I mean we have Max Homa tossing 80s out there like they are Jamie Moyer fastballs and he still does interviews and little post-round meet ups. It’s commendable. It’s easy to respect someone like that, and it’s easy to root for someone like that.

But I did leave TPC Sawgrass thinking, damn, are these guys really this soft? Or are we really that annoying?

And I use the term “we” very loosely. I operate in a perpetual gray area — you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but BLINDING!

Where was I? Oh, yes, my line of thought. I was transfixed on this conundrum, read numerous articles from media members about it and was still shaking my head.

Are these really necessary? I thought. Is it necessary that I drink my own… ahh nevermind. FOCUS!

Then Wednesday happened, and I got a much better understanding of the player perspective.

Two days ago, Augusta National Golf Club held its annual pre-Masters virtual press conference with the defending champion. This year that is Scheffler. The two-time champion revealed his champions dinner menu and fielded questions from the media for 30 minutes while wearing the green jacket at his kitchen table.

I had my question ready to go, but admittedly I took about 10 minutes to figure out the “raise hand” feature on Zoom and by then I was last in a very long line.

While I was trying to decipher the DaVinci Code, Scheffler was stuck answering some terrible questions (and some good ones, don’t get me wrong). I couldn’t believe some of them. I had to make a notable effort to keep a straight face and not react since my camera was on.

Fun fact: My senior consultant my first year at Deloitte told me that I was horrible at hiding my thoughts via my facial expressions. I think that still rings true today.

The questions kept rolling in. We are still asking about LIV Golf? We are asking what he thinks of his betting odds? We are still asking about his menu that is nearly identical to his last? We are still asking about his menu that is nearly identical to his last? Sorry, I wrote that sentence twice. It felt necessary since it was asked about five times. We are asking about something that didn’t even happen?

“Oops, I was thinking about something else.” Come on!

I was steaming! We have the world No. 1 right in front of us, people. Uninterrupted! The defending champ! Argh! And to make matters worse when the 30-minute window closed, I was left with my left hand up like I was a Commies fan.

I technically was this postseason but that is neither here nor there.

Nothing notable came out of the press conference, but the aggregators did their jobs and started aggregating the transcripts. They chose to highlight Scheffler’s quote about members of LIV Golf that was a throw-away comment at best and it made its rounds thanks to the boys and girls at NUCLR and ZIRE who I have chosen to block, and you should too.

#DISCUSSION 🚨

If I’m Scheffler I’m probably a little irked by some of the questions and I am probably a little more than a little irked by that quote getting blasted everywhere. Everyone is getting blasted it seems.

Scheffler doesn’t have time to discern between serious journalists, legacy media, independent outlets, podcasters, dumbasses (oh crap, my hand is still raised!!!) and social media pages, so he probably buckets it all into one. I’m sure he is not alone either.

So all of this to say is I see where the players come from. Some questions stink. Some accounts are purely clickbait and it may be hard to sift through all those for the actual golden nuggets.

As for what to make of this ordeal or what needs to be done, I actually think it is quite simple. Everyone just needs to be better.

Media needs to do their homework, come prepared and ask good questions that make players think. Fans — yes, you — need to not give those accounts a platform #BLOCKED 😳. Players need to realize if you’re good with the media — in good times and bad — not only does the outlet benefit, not only do the fans benefit, but most of all, you benefit.

Quote of the week

“JFK files this. JFK files that. Can someone tell me what the hell happened to Patrick Reed’s Porsche?”

The Opening Drive

I beat around the bush last week awaiting the official announcement, but with the cat now out of the bag I can air all the dirty laundry (kiddddding). The rumors (which I guess I technically started) are true: The First Cut Podcast has been buried six feet under.

I have known this day was coming for about a month as the news was shared with me during the PGA Show, but the extended timeline has done nothing to lessen the blow. “Bummer” is the word which I keep coming back to which probably isn’t the best word to use — especially for someone who calls himself a writer — but it is the one which encapsulates my feelings.

Talking about golf as many as five times a week with a group of guys who started as coworkers and grew into friends was a privilege I may have taken for granted. While most of my friends are stuck in conference rooms and offices for their meetings, I have been stuck in a virtual greenroom talking about nonsense with a side of golf for the past two years. And trust me, there has been plenty of nonsense to discuss.

To Rick, KP, Greg, Mark, Jacob and Josh — thank you.

Hand up, the outpouring of support and messages on Twitter and Instagram has caught me by surprise — people wondering what happened, where they can listen to me talk about “golf” and what the future holds. Thank you to those of who reached out and to those who have recently subscribed to this newsletter to get my perspective on said “golf.”

That paragraph made it sound like my hermit crab just died or something. Maybe a decent comp? I used to love those fuckers.

I’ll still be on CBS Sports HQ and the Early Wedge (which has expanded to fill the gap left by the First Cut). I’ll still fill guest spots where shows will have me (please reach out to my agent to book those, thanks). I’ll still be talking about golf, but just through a different lens.

When one door closes another one opens, and although the news is a bummer I am excited to walk through that door and see what’s on the other side.

While we were away…

A slow news week in the golf world is always a welcomed sight, and it seems that we have finally gotten one of those (until 9:30 a.m. comes around and something biblical happens). While there may not have been many headlines to come out the past few days, there has been some fun information to come across my desk.

As you all know, I will be flying to Tucson next week to play in the Cologuard Classic Pro-Am. Not going to lie, I am a little nervous. Not about the interviews or the golf or anything tangible really, but about my vanity handicap which will be used for 18 holes. I still have scores in my GHIN from the peak pandemic era (PPE for short). I haven’t played since the end of December. I am 100% going to be exposed (which I guess is a little ironic in a way).

One positive note, though, is I did go to the driving range on Wednesday — approximately 25 golf balls should be enough preparation I thought to myself in the car ride over.

Onlookers were oohing and aahing at my sick skills. Drives were pumped over 300 yards. Iron shots were carved with and against the wind. I felt like the real life Tin Cup.

This did not help my ego…or my back as I haven’t been able to move properly since.

The following week, I will be driving down to Ponte Vedra for a couple days to save the PGA Tour attend the Players Championship. I’m only going early in the week to meet up with some people and hopefully do some cool stuff around TPC Sawgrass. Unfortunately, this means I will miss PGA Tour player Wesley Bryan playing in Wednesday’s Creator Classic.

I cannot catch a break!

And finally, for the the actual news, we have scored an interview in the middle of March with a man who contended at last year’s Masters. Look at the leaderboard, and take your wildest guess. It’s the most obvious person for what it’s worth.

Quotes of the week

I didn’t even want to touch on the actual golf from Thursday due the abomination that took place at PGA National. Sad!

The Opening Drive

It is a slow morning in the McDonald household following the Four Nations finale between the United States and Canada. Watching Sid the Kid join forces with McJesus and Nate Dogg across two weeks of good old fashioned hockey was nothing short of spectacular.

I’m gutted for the boys in the stars and stripes, but as a Pens fan, I have a hard time rooting against the kid. I’m sorry, it’s just in my DNA at this point of my life. He’ll make a great addition to Team USA in the 2026 Olympics once America’s top hat becomes No. 51. Or possibly No. 52 depending on the status of Greenland.

Sports are inherently a copycat league, and some are scrambling to capture the same magic that the NHL did with Four Nations Face-Off. This, of course, includes golf because we have to make everything about ourselves.

Now, there are some in the sphere who believe an all-star weekend is exactly what golf needs — long drive competitions, skills test, up-and-down challenges, whatever your wildest imagination can think of — and those people could not be more wrong. Kick them in the shins if you are near them.

If your takeaway from a weekend that saw the NBA flop and the NHL flourish is to copy the former, then I really can’t help you. The NBA literally brought up a white guy from the minor leagues to do the dunk contest…again! I’ll never dismiss a great weekend for white guys — dunk contest winner and hockey is officially back — but let’s seriously work this out.

“A constructive working session” as my man Jay Monahan would say.

Four Nations worked for one simple reason: the players cared. Now, hockey guys are inherently a different breed — about as far away from the modern professional golfer — and perhaps the last of true sportsmen.

So the question then becomes: How do you get golfers to buy into an exhibition?

The Match has flopped. The Showdown sucked. TGL has had its moments, and there is some serious buy-in there. Here is what I propose and feel free to credit me unlike Golf Channel when discussing Maverick McNealy’s plans to run for PAC Chairman.

No scoop for you!

First thing we do is cancel the Presidents Cup. Yup, sorry not sorry. We have tried this thing for more than two decades and it has been two decades of dominance for the red, white and blue.

Wow, what a nice spot on the calendar that randomly opened up!

In lieu of the P Cup, we roll out the World Cup — we can workshop that name we don’t need this to be problematic from the start — and unlike Four Nations, we trot out 32 nations — it’s already 8x better than the NHL and we haven’t even teed off yet — or realistically like 20 nations but still with 32 duos.

32 teams of two will make up the field, and those 32 teams will be split up into eight different groups from which two will emerge from a round robin style match play format. The format in the group stage will be four-ball, best ball, whatever you want to call it. Each team will play three matches and if there is a tie in the standings then a sudden death playoff will be required.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I am more-or-less copying the old WGC Match Play up to this point.

From 32 teams, we are now down to 16 teams in a single-elimination bracket where the format is no longer four-ball, but foursomes (i.e. alternate shot). You play it out from there.

Now, the field will be determined based on which 32 nations are the first 32 nations represented in the Official World Golf Rankings by the end of The Open. This would give players a chance to play with their partners in practice rounds over the final month of the season, and if they choose to forgo the playing opportunity and spit on their country’s flag then their spot can be filled with a replacement.

If nations have a surplus of players inside the top 100 or whatever arbitrary cut-off point we want to use then they can enter more than one team but no more than four — a little tip of the cap to the originator, so to speak.

Here is what the field could potentially look like (and yes, I cherry picked some names):

USA: Scheffler, Schauffele
USA: Morikawa, Clark
USA: Thomas, Cantlay
USA: DeChambeau, Bradley
Northern Ireland: McIlroy, McKibbin
Ireland: Lowry, Power
Sweden: Åberg, Noren
Japan: Matsuyama, Hirata
England: Hatton, Fleetwood
England: Rai, Rose
England: Canter, Fitzpatrick
Australia: Scott, Smith
Australia: Day, M.W. Lee
Norway: Hovland, Ventura
Scotland: MacIntyre, Ferguson
Austria: Straka, Wiesberger
South Korea: S. Kim, T. Kim
South Korea: An, Im
Belgium: Detry, Pieters
Canada: Taylor, Pendrith (this made me chuckle)
Canada: Conners, Hughes
Denmark: Højgaard, Højgaard (cheeseburger, cheeseburger)
Denmark: Olesen, Neergaard-Petersen
France: Pavon, Langasque
France: Perez, Rozner
Colombia: Echavarria, Munoz
Germany: Jaeger, Kaymer
South Africa: Bezuidenhout, Burmester
South Africa: Oosthuizen, Van Rooyen
Spain: Rahm, Puig
Spain: Garcia, Campillo
Chile: Niemann, Pereira

And just like all other things in golf, if playing for one’s country doesn’t get you out of bed in the morning, then what about a $25 million cash prize from Saudi Arabia?

While we were away …

An end of an era

There is some unfortunate news to share on the work front as a venture I have been intertwined with since my early days at CBS Sports will come to an end this Sunday. They say when one door closes another one opens — which is true in this case as another program which I’ll be heavily involved with gets going next week — but I still can’t help but be bummed out about the whole situation.

I’ll touch on the ins and outs, the decisions that were made behind the scenes and why the show mustn’t go on next week following the “official” announcement on Sunday of the Mexico Open.

Quotes of the week

“Whatever the tariffs were, double it.”

The Opening Drive

“Number one, you look at his passion for the game, his knowledge and understanding of the game, he's very familiar with the PGA Tour, he's very familiar with the team at the Public Investment Fund,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said. “Like us, he has a very clear picture of what should happen and he wants to help. The game means that much to him. And he's the ultimate dealmaker, so having him in the mix is a great thing for the game.”

Ahh, so that’s what Monahan meant when he said “everything is on the table.” Well, consider President Trump firmly in the mix.

Details have continued to flow out from Trump’s meeting with Monahan and Adam Scott. Saudi PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan was reportedly on the phone, while Tiger Woods — despite his name being listed on the PGA Tour’s announcement — was neither present nor on the phone but “he was there with us in spirit.”

Rory McIlroy made it known he played a round of golf with Trump in early January and insists Trump does not like the LIV Golf format and that “he’s on the Tour’s side.” Mind you, this is the same Rory McIlroy who said in 2020 he would never play a round of golf with Trump again.

I don’t disagree with the assertion Trump does not like the LIV Golf format — he is a traditionalist by nature, his golf courses are all par 72s if you haven’t noticed — but I do question the second half of McIlroy’s statement.

Is Trump really on the Tour’s side? Let’s look at the all-22.

We have a man who has been labeled the anti-establishment figurehead in Washington.

A man whose golf course was set to host the 2022 PGA Championship before the PGA of America cancelled it.

A man whose world famous golf course in Scotland — where the likes of Tom Watson, Greg Norman and Nick Price have raised the Claret Jug — is no longer a part of the Open rota.

A man who used to host one of the best PGA Tour events but no longer does.

It’s true Trump is a golf fan and he understands the difference between the PGA Tour and the PGA of America unlike half the country, but it may also be fair to assert he sees those same parties in professional golf as the establishment.

Brokering a deal to unify the game does a number of things if you are Trump: (1) you are seen as the guy to save golf, (2) you force the establishment to bend the knee, (3) you get back in the good graces of the decision makers and (4) you give yourself a chance to host a major championship.

“We've played at Trump venues in the past,” Monahan said. “While we haven't talked about that with the president, I certainly see a day where we're adding Trump venues to our schedule, certainly.”

Refer a friend

While we were away …

We’re going mobile

The end of February and the beginning of March have somehow turned into a busy travel period for me. I am wheels up to Florida tomorrow morning, and the plan is to attend one match of the highly anticipated TGL Presidents Day triple header at the SciFi Center on Monday. I’m like 63% certain I have a line on three tickets — I am bringing my father and uncle since they are the opposite of TGL’s intended audience — as I want to take in all the action as a civilian and a member of gen. pop.

Please, please, hold your applause until the end. I am just like you.

Once we wrap up that excursion, I am heading out west to Tucson, Arizona for the Cologuard Classic on the Champions Tour. It seems the tournament officials have really enjoyed my tweeting as of late and have invited me to fly out and play in the pro-am.

Lord, if you have a heart you will pair me with Padraig Harrington. My game is non-existent.

That’ll put an end to the extracurriculars before the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Florida the second week of March. I’m barking up the tree as we speak since it is a short drive from Charleston, but I think I’ll get my way (famous last words). There’s been some really good tournament coverage coming out of the West Coast Swing, but I have a few things up my sleeve people may like.

Guess how much has been spent on LIV Golf

How I am just now coming across this newsletter is borderline irresponsible, but we are here now and that is all that matters. Money in Sport took a look at the financial statements of LIV Golf UK (i.e., LIV Golf excluding the U.S.) from 2023, and the numbies are staggering.

LIV Golf UK brought in $37 million in revenue in 2023 — $17 million from its event in Australia — with an operating loss of nearly $400 million. Most notable perhaps is that the PIF is about to cross the $5 billion investment mark — a key threshold in the financial world where one looks in the mirror, turns to the wasteland behind them, shakes their head with a grin and says, “Son of a bitch, you’ve done it again.”

Patrick Reed makes hole-in-one at LIV Golf Adelaide

If you don’t know by now, I ride or die with my fellow Patricks and P Reed is chief among them given his 2018 Masters victory which funded my lavish college lifestyle for a couple months (won $500 that week). I can’t stop laughing at the handshake he does with the random 4 Aces guy (?) Basketball players, football players, sure, do your silly little handshakes but golfers? I don’t know about that.

Quotes of the week

“I learnt that he’s not a fan of the LIV format…” - Rory McIlroy

“I have nothing against Lucas, but if we're banning AimPoint I think we should ban long putters as well.” - Collin Morikawa

Rephrased — I have nothing against this guy, but let me say something directly about him.

“That’s so strange. I haven’t hit a hook in a long, long time.” - Jordan Spieth

The Opening Drive

It’s Super Bowl week, and while everyone is consumed with the big game, which team to bet, the halftime show and commercials, I have recently found myself more enthralled with the antics on Radio Row.

So many different media types make their way down to the Super Bowl, and I can’t help but scratch my head sometimes and think, “You’re there? Seriously?”

Bert Kreischer can’t keep getting away with this.

Not only do members of the media attend Super Bowl week, but so does every single NFL star. Honors took place last night (missed them, damn) and players spend the week leading up to the red carpet shelling their new, unique protein powders on various shows.

I tried to draw a parallel to the PGA Tour and golf, but all I could think of is Phil Mickelson showing up to the Super Bowl of golf (the Tour Championship) and passing around free samples of his coffee while asking others to subscribe to his YouTube channel.

“Watch my latest hole-in-one challenge where I attempt to make an ace over the PGA Tour’s data lake.”

Sound off in the comments!

This I scratch your back, you scratch my back — the funny thing about my back is … ahh nevermind — back-and-forth is a lot more prevalent in media than most people know.

I know some of my counterparts who hate it and don’t want to spend time on a subject’s business affairs. And then there are others who will take whatever time they can get with athletes — even if it is just 5 minutes — so that they can clip something together for social media and get numbies that do not necessarily translate to tangible numbers.

The trade-off is always running rampant in my mind when I face a similar situation. My interview with Maverick McNealy was because of his ties to AT&T ahead of CBS’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, so I threw him a freebie question for 30 minutes of his time — that’s best case scenario, both parties win.

Now, I have Ben Griffin’s people in my inbox asking for an interview about his relationship with TruGreen. It’s never a good sign that I know more about the company than the man I’ve dubbed the loan shark, so that may ultimately be a pass.

All of this to say, it just goes to show that almost everyone has an angle, but it is those that don’t — players and people who genuinely like to chop it up with others for the sake of chopping it up — who are the ones that make for the best conversationalists and ultimately help their bottom line the most.

While we were away …

Charley Hoffman pens letter to PGA Tour members

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and golfers have joined in on the letter-writing season. First, it was Justin Thomas imploring his peers to be more open to the media and now it is Charley Hoffman asking Rory McIlroy — I mean his peers — to quit it with the simulator golf and play more golf on the PGA Tour. Also, play faster!

Why do I feel like Rory won’t be taking Hoff’s advice? Ugh tough love.

USGA, PGA share major pathways for members of LIV Golf

The USGA announced that the top golfer among the top three in the LIV Golf standings will receive an invitation into the U.S. Open this summer. I’m guessing LIV Golf isn’t stoked about this as it may ultimately lead to zero new invitations for them — for example, if Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau are the top three then nothing really changes.

This slightly more competitive than the PGA’s unofficial method which is to pull from the top five from the year-end LIV Golf money list. For those wondering that’s how Joaquin Niemann (2) and Sergio Garcia (3) earned invitations into the PGA Championship this past week.

Donald Trump is going to save golf

I know there’s been a bunch of reporting on this — and this is not to disparage any of those writers — but anyone with a brain could have seen this coming. It’s a bit of a nothing burger in my eyes as the Don was always going to be friendly to the game. I did get good use of the “Please save me, Donald Trump” video on social media, so I am appreciative of that.

Rory’s conservative approach

No, this does not have to do with the above news, although the headline would suggest otherwise. I wrote about Rory McIlroy’s win at Pebble Beach and three strategic decisions that really stood out to me. For all that is made of Rory’s putting during major championships, it has overshadowed his decision making down the stretch like at this summer’s U.S. Open where his club and shot selections were less than stellar.

Rickie’s ridiculous outfit

I imagine this is how an Alabama CPA rolls into the office or and OSU sophomore jumps into formals, but this is downright foul(er). The good thing about Fowler’s outfit is it exposed the completely unfunny people who made the “I don’t see anything” camouflage joke. Unfollowed!

Quote of the week

No quote this week, but instead perhaps my favorite betting video ever made. It’s so bad that it’s good. Surprise! Surprise!

The Opening Drive

I got a drink (OK, two drinks) with a friend last night, and the subject of starting one’s career over — or perhaps starting new — was raised. It was a topic I was instantly enthralled with and an opportunity I was instantly jealous of my bar mate for having.

Now, I don’t have the responsibilities of most of my friends — family, partner, etc. — and so my opinion of this may be skewed, but it was a conversation I have not stopped thinking about since.

It’s not the first time something like this has been discussed or brought up to me. Since leaving the consulting world, people have taken an interest in my career path, asked for advice, praised me, ridiculed me and everything in between.

The most common question I get, however, is would you do anything different?

Some assume I would have gone to Northwestern, Syracuse or some other college that would allow me to bully people in the media center with my pocket diploma. The people who assume this are usually the ones who know little about me.

I’ll never wish for anything like that, but the thought of getting an earlier start in golf has entered my brain, although it quickly exits when I get to thinking about all the dumb experiences I have had. Like the really dumb ones — the ones I won’t be sharing on this medium because there are a growing number of co-workers who are subscribing to this newsletter.

Not cool guys — please unsubscribe.

Refer a friend

Last week, for example, I went down to Orlando for the PGA Show and got to interview Jim Nantz, Derek Jeter, the 2022 U.S. Open champion and the man who sets up the golf courses for the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup.

Everyone has asked, “How was Jeter?” or “How was Nantz?” and they are fair questions — I would probably ask the same. But the conversation always shifts to my interactions with my co-workers like meeting my editor for the first time or receiving some news that caused me to literally start Tebowing on the floor of the PGA Show.

Talk about a good first impression.

I will say my favorite interaction from the show may have been with Jeter’s co-founder who asked me before the interview, “Who are you, what do you do, and why should I care?”

My name Jeff?

My week, by most accounts, was not a fun one on paper — multiple travel delays, excess time in airports, a diet of chicken, rice and bad coffee. Factor in some of those interactions that I have shared, and it almost comes across as your standard work trip.

But I loved every second of it. Every single one.

Not because it was fun (although there were times), but because it was a brand new experience and in its simplest form what I do (write, talk, babble, etc.) is express my experiences.

Every brush stroke an artist makes is a product of experience. Every story an author pens is a product of experience. Every tale I decide to tell is based on — you guessed it — experience.

The medium through which one shares this will always evolve. Articles, podcasts, radio shows, social media, whatever it is, but the core driver behind the work will always be experience.

And I think that’s where the happiness for my drinking pal ultimately lies. They are going to experience something new, something they have never done before and the worst thing that can possibly happen is they get a great story out of it.

Or they are forced to deplete their life savings. But still, you get my point.

Quotes of the week

“I suck.” - Viktor Hovland

“PGA Tour broadcasts are kind of infuriating.”

“Have you ever seen the Chinese reenactment of Tiger’s car crash? It’s hilarious.”

Well, I have now…