From Dustin Johnson's family thanking Jordan Spieth to Billy Horschel's heroic football act, get caught up on the last week in golf.
Stan Badz/PGA TOUR
Hello, friends! I am writing to you from the WM Phoenix Open media center feeling like a million bucks. I’ve never been to TPC Scottsdale before and I am itching to get out to the course. I cannot do that in good conscience, however, without first filling you in on my favorite social moments from the past week.
Before we get into it though, I have a request for any Arizona natives: send me your favorite ice cream spots. I went to Sweet Republic last night and plan to make at least two more ice cream stops before the end of the week. Okay, on to the good stuff.
A Pebble Beach proposal
Disney World and beachside proposals are OUT. PGA Tour player Eric Cole took his engagement to the next level at Pebble Beach last week when he popped the question on the 18th.
Proposing during an event is a gutsy move for a player, but I’m guessing it takes the stress off the golf. I’d be a LOT more fixated on the proposal logistics than my chipping and putting if I were Cole. It all worked out in the end though, because Cole got a fiancee and T15 finish out of the week. What a life!
The Gretzky-Johnsons react to Spieth’s comments
Jordan Spieth sang Dustin Johnson’s praises during a presser at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week when he complimented his game and said he missed the two-time major winner at the event. Golf Digest posted a quote and a clip of Spieth’s comments, and DJ’s caddie and brother, Austin, and mother-in-law, Janet Gretzky, took to the comment section to thank Spieth.
Game respects game! This is kind of like how I still wish my sister’s ex-boyfriend a happy birthday every year.
The pros take on TPC Scottsdale
Next up we have the pros (and not just golf ones) who teed it up at TPC Scottsdale last week. JJ Watt, Jon Rahm, Tom Kim and Michael Phelps played together, which is quite a star-studded group.
I’d like to take a moment to personally thank Watt for recording this video of Rahm and proving that sometimes even the best payers in the world are just like us. Hopefully Rahm doesn’t end up in this spot once play starts in Phoenix.
Watt invited Tom Brady to his “retired group” that meets on the golf course, so I’m hoping it’s only a matter of time before we see No. 12 teeing it up with the PGA Tour pros as well.
The end of an era
Earlier this week, word spread that St. Andrews was making some tweaks to the Swilcan Bridge. Well, not technically the bridge but a walkway leading up to it.
And now? The Swilcan Bridge patio is being deconstructed.
Did Golf Twitter just change the course of golf history? Only time will tell.
The Larry
Golf’s Subpar Podcast hosted their first outing, The Larry, on Monday at Grayhawk Golf Club. A handful of pros were in attendance, and everything went according to plan until a football ended up in a pond during a game of catch.
It was a moment of desperation. A dozen men screamed as the ball splashed in the water, signaling the end of their important game. Just as I was accepting that the football portion of the day was over, Billy Horschel emerged as a hero.
Without hesitation, he had bystanders lower him to sea level and grab the football. He fumbled it the first time, but wasn’t going to throw in the towel. Horschel went right back down to fetch the ball and thus saved the day.
The video is hilarious if you haven’t seen it yourself.
With the WM Phoenix Open and the Super Bowl in town this week, Phoenix is absolutely buzzing. JT took some time to head to the Super Bowl Media Day as the Tour’s media correspondent.
This isn’t JT’s first time joining the media side. He asked Tiger and Charlie Woods a question after the final round of the PNC Championship, so he’s basically a seasoned veteran at this point.