Welcome to the Social 7, where Tim Reilly or Rachel Bleier of GOLF’s social media team will dive into the good, bad, crazy, insane, viral, hilarious — well, you get the picture — of the past week on social media.
1. Prior to The Match taking over social media, Greg Norman gave us the feel-good story of the week. Fortunately, GOLF was on-hand to watch Norman surprise Steve Melnikoff, a 98-year-old World War II veteran, with his first-ever new set of clubs. It was a tear-shed moment for all parties involved, myself included. This Great White Shark has a soft side…
Surprising friend and hero Steve Melnikoff with his first set of brand new clubs. Thank you @GOLF_com and @cobragolf for teaming up with me to make this possible. https://t.co/0tTPrtRrKp
— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) November 22, 2018
2. The vast majority of promotion leading up to The Match was a snooze. It didn’t do much of anything to get me excited for a match that was happening 10-15 years too late. But, when Anthony Kim talks, I stop what I’m doing to listen. Golf’s version of Bigfoot came out of hiding to give his two cents on Tiger vs. Phil. Quite honestly, I don’t even remember what he said because I was too excited just to see AK.
If there’s another Match, it needs to involve Kim in some capacity. Bring the dogs with you, AK.
3. Mickelson won The Match before it even started. During his practice session, and to the dismay of groundskeepers everywhere, Phil showed off an impressive veteran move. Lefty was admittedly tired before the action got underway at Shadow Creek. One way to preserve energy? Use your wedge as a mountain climbing tool. I’m anxious to get out there and try this myself.
Sauciest move I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/m4Ix3DOLwC
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) November 23, 2018
4. To me, the most appealing aspect of The Match was the idea of hearing Tiger and Phil mic’d up. The one problem? No one told Peter Jacobsen. Every. Single. Time. it felt like Tiger or Phil were about to say something interesting, Jacobsen would speak over them. Instead of hearing on-course banter, we were left with Ernie Johnson checking in with Shane Bacon to tell us what the challenge was since viewers missed it due to Jacobsen saying something that absolutely no one wanted to hear.
PHIL: You know, Tiger, I’ve always wanted to tell you this, and I regret not saying it sooner but-
(Crosstalk)
JACOBSON: BLAH BLAH BLAH WHAT AN AMAZING MATCH THIS IS WHAT GREAT GUYS THERE ARE.
Tiger: Wow. Thanks Phil. Let’s never speak of this again.
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) November 23, 2018
5. Speaking of Tiger and Phil’s banter, there was very, very little of it. After Phil missed a putt for $200k on the first hole, Tiger said “good speed” with a smirk on his face. I thought for sure we were in for an epic war of words. Boy, was I wrong…
Not only did Tiger and Phil lose the ability to make a putt longer than six feet, but they also lost the ability to speak. On the rare occasion they did, it was complimentary and with Phil repeatedly saying how much fun the event was. Well, yeah, just about anything is fun for that kind of payday, Phil. For the next pillow fight, try throwing some bars of soap in the pillowcases…
Can we get Temper-Pedic to sponsor #TheMatch?? Bit of a pillow fight going right now haha I won’t these boys to play some golffff #letsgooo
— Rickie Fowler (@RickieFowler) November 23, 2018
6. Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Smylie Kaufman and Mike Greller watched The Match together at Spieth’s place for some pre-wedding bro time. With that comes a lot of ribbing. While the Tour’s young guns poked fun at the mirage of short putts and lack of trash talk, Charles Barkley couldn’t help but attack the size of Spieth’s TV on the broadcast. I hate to TV shame you, Jordan, but Chuck has a point. Hopefully, the boys pool their money together for a nice wedding gift…
JT, Rickie and Jordan doing their own live commentary on #TheMatch pic.twitter.com/1uKKjw73Ea
— Rachel Bleier (@Rachel_Bleier) November 24, 2018
7. Just as Phil was starting to warm up the Social Media King of the Week throne, Hosung Choi made his triumphant return. Choi was already the people’s champ, and now he’s the Casio Open champion on the Japan Golf Tour. I can’t get enough of the internet sensation. Choi gives me hope that I too can one day win a professional golf tournament. Give the people what they want and get Choi in The Match 2.0.
