As far as controversial tweets go, Harris English — a longtime PGA Tour pro who currently commands a following of more than 56,000 Twitter users — probably thought that what he posted while watching the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship on the afternoon of May 29, 2018, was fairly innocuous:
“I still can’t take these pull carts seriously #NCAAGolf,” he wrote, referencing the seeming ubiquity of push-cart use in the game’s top collegiate tournament.
While a few pros agreed with English, what followed was some serious backlash from push-cart lovers the world over, many of whom passionately defended their use. Barstool Sports even published a blog titled: “If You Are Upset About Golfers Using Pushcarts You Are A Loser.”
Fast-forward to four years later, and English says he actually used a push cart himself as recently as July.
“I did use a push cart,” he told GOLF Subpar hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode. “I went over early for the Scottish Open, played North Berwick with Sepp Straka and Chris Kirk. And they don’t have carts, they don’t have caddies. So I’m not gonna lug around my big Ping bag. So I used a push cart.”
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“Did you hate yourself the whole time?” Stoltz asked with a laugh.
“It was actually nice. It felt good,” English replied. “I don’t really carry my bag as much as I used to. But it was just — tournament, NCAA Championship, and seeing how many guys did it. I never saw that when I was in junior golf. Or if I did see it, I was like, that guy has a weakness, I’m gonna crush that guy. Like, he can’t compete.”
“It’s arguably the meanest thing you’ve ever said,” Knost joked.
“Brittany Lincicome, I think, backed me up, which is nice, from the LPGA Tour, but man, that was tough,” English said. “So I don’t really tweet anything.”
For more from English, including his thoughts on LIV Golf, and his pick for MVP of the Ryder Cup afterparty, check out the full interview below.