Guys like Henrik Stenson, Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm have piled up a ton of professional wins — and four major titles — but they also provide a ton of entertainment value. Of course that’s because they are talented, but also due to some of their on-course commentary and antics.
Hatton made headlines last year when, playing a difficult U.S. Open setup, he quipped, “I just lose my head every week; [other players] can kind of experience what it’s like in my head for a week [at U.S. Opens.]”
All four of those aforementioned pros play on LIV Golf, which is also where 22-year-old David Puig plays. The former Arizona State Sun Devil was the guest on this week’s Subpar podcast and dished on what it’s like playing with some of those guys. As co-host Drew Stoltz put it: There are some “iconic tempers” on LIV Golf.
The group joked that Puig would be on that list, too, but Puig was also asked to list his top-three worst tempers on LIV.
“I mean, Henrik Stenson’s got to be up there,” Puig said. “I love the guy man; he’s the best. He’s got to be the first one.”
Puig told a story of a round when he was paired with Stenson on the Asian tour, and Stenson pulled a 7-iron into the water and promptly tomahawked his club.
“And there’s this microphone probably like 20 yards away,” he said, “and it hits the microphone and the microphone explodes and his club breaks at the same time.”
Puig also mentioned Garcia as a candidate for the all-temper team, but added that Garcia doesn’t seem to get quite as mad these days as he used to.
Of course, there’s also Hatton.
“He gets pretty dicey, but I can’t stop laughing when he says all that,” Puig said. “You are standing next to him and he’s saying all these things and I’m like, ‘I f—ing love this man.”
Co-host Colt Knost added a story about a recent round in which Hatton joined him on the CBS broadcast after a round, and Hatton was asked to call the next shot on live TV. It didn’t go well, and the next day Knost was assigned as the on-course reporter for Hatton’s group. On one hole, Hatton left an eagle putt well short. He tapped in and then said to Knost, “That putt was almost as bad as my f—ing commentary yesterday.”
As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.