Tiger’s U.S. Open showing, DJ’s LIV celebrations, Cantlay’s engagement | Rogers Report
DJ and Paulina celebrated, Cantlay got engaged
Joe Scarnici/LIV Golf, Nikki Guidish
Hello, friends and welcome to a Holiday Edition™ edition of the Rogers Report.
First, a few updates on my end: I moved to Boston, attended last week’s LIV event and have spent the better half of the last 24 hours on the phone with my sister, who ended up in urgent care after losing a fight (read: walked into) a cactus in Arizona. Other than that, life is going on as usual! This may have been the first week of the PGA Tour’s short-lived offseason, but there was still plenty to talk about.
Also: Check out my Drop Zone podcast appearance! We covered some observations from LIV Boston and much more:
Tiger at the U.S. Open
It wasn’t at Brookline but folks, Eldrick still made it to a U.S. Open this year. The 15-time major champion went to Queens to watch Serena Williams take on (and beat) World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit. And this man was DIALED in.
Check out that second photo! I can’t help but wonder if Tiger is this intense while watching a Little League baseball game or kids’ soccer game, or if this level of concentration is reserved for the absolute best. I could honestly see it going either way. But it’s only right that he seemed as focused on Williams’ match as he often does on the golf course.
I’d also like to take a moment to thank Serena Williams on behalf of all golf fans. We didn’t know how long we’d go before our next Tiger fist pump, and she brought one out of him during her match.
Look at that! You can tell he’s had plenty of practice perfecting that celebration. And to my loyal readers at home, the announcer misspoke. He’s had five back operations, not four.
I’m also a huge fan of the way Tiger and Serena have supported and inspired each other over the years. I even dug through the Twitter archives to uncover these old gems.
Just two GOATs showing each other some love! What’s better than that? Probably not much, except the fact that Williams didn’t think she’d be friends with Tiger after meeting him for the first time, which I find hilarious. She’s gotta be one of the only people on the planet who has ever had that reaction. I know, I know, it was because she was a little intimidated, but I can’t help but picture her having a lukewarm reaction to him. Imagine any golf fan meeting Tiger and his or her takeaway be something like, “eh, I’m not so sure about that guy.”
Seriously, though, these interviews show just how highly they clearly think of each other.
And of course, Tiger wouldn’t be Tiger if he (or whoever runs his social) didn’t send out a congratulatory Tweet after it was all said and done.
“Little sis!” I cannot imagine Serena gets called that very often from people other than Venus.
And finally, this Tweet sums it all up. How lucky are we all to have seen these two compete?
The Korda siblings take on the U.S. Open
Tiger wasn’t the only golfer in New York last week. The most talented trio of siblings of all time (this is the only time I’ll admit that title doesn’t actually belong to two of my siblings and me) met up after Sebastian Korda’s U.S. Open match and shared a wholesome moment.
I searched the name “Korda” on Getty Images, and in the first two rows of photos all three siblings showed up: Jessica, Nelly and Sebastian. That’s got to be some sort of record, I would think. Anyways, it’s good to see the coolest family in golf thriving in the Big Apple.
PGA Tour vacations and an engagement
The PGA Tour’s two-week offseason began last week, and the pros are making the most of their time. Collin Morikawa made a hole-in-one while teeing it up with David Lipsky and Alex Kang (yes, that’s Danielle’s brother) at Shadow Creek. And while that was happening, the Schauffeles took a trip with Patrick Cantlay and Nikki Guidish to Napa. It looked lovely.
Patrick Cantlay, Nikki Guidish and Maya and Xander Schauffele
Nikki Guidish
It’s always a little surprising to see what players wear off the course, but I’m happy to learn that Cantlay and Schauffele’s style is pretty much what I’d expect from these two. I’d say the only guys whose day-to-day style I’ve been surprised by is Tiger (because of those jeans) and Max Homa (more skater-dude vibes than I’d expect for a golfer). Some more photos:
Patrick Cantlay, Nikki Guidish and Maya and Xander Schauffele
Nikki Guidish
Nikki Guidish and Maya Schauffele
Nikki Guidish
This looked like a blast, although Pat Perez’s wife, Ashley, disagreed in a (since-deleted) comment on our very own Instagram.
Ashley Perez’ comment
Ashley Perez
I’m utterly confused by this comment because A) it does look fun and B) what kind of comment is that in the first place?
Just as I was finishing up this week’s edition of the Rogers Report, we got some breaking news via Guidish’s Instagram: she and Patrick Cantlay are engaged! For those who don’t know much about Cantlay’s new fiancee, Nikki Guidish graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2014 and then got her professional doctorate in pharmacy at the University of South Florida. She’s good pals with the Schauffeles as well as Jena Sims, who is married to Brooks Koepka.
Patrick Cantlay and Nikki Guidish
Nikki Guidish
Patrick Cantlay and Nikki Guidish
Nikki Guidish
It looks like Guidish and Cantlay got engaged on vacation. Do we think the Schauffeles played a role in putting it all together, or at least keeping Guidish distracted so that Cantlay could execute his proposal plan?! I’d love to know how this all went down.
Patrick Cantlay and Nikki Guidish celebrate their engagement
Nikki Guidish
The good news is that we now have Morikawa and Cantlay weddings in our future.
Tony Finau also looks like he’s making the most of a few weeks off by resting at home.
He’s channeling the exact energy that I channel between Christmas and New Years. It’s something I like to call “Grandpa Joe time,” which is inspired by Charlie’s grandfather in Willy Wonka. It’s basically when you do nothing but lounge around and sleep for a bit. And it’s always well-deserved.
And finally, Lacey Homa had her baby shower. Great hat, Max.
John Daly being John Daly
It wouldn’t be a proper week in golf without John Daly turning heads, and that’s exactly what he did at the Arkansas football game over the weekend. I would say the following sentence from Daly himself sums him up pretty well.
“Well, I’m not gonna lie, I’m drunk.” This man is an absolute content machine! Fair enough, Mr. Daly and thank you for your honesty.
DJ’s big win
You know it’s going to be a big week when we get a workout video of Dustin Johnson.
Kidding, but this video is pretty fun to watch. It’s been a while since we’ve had some real social content from the Johnson-Gretzky crew, and I’m more than happy to dip my toes back in those waters.
First off, can we talk about this putt?
When I make putts, this is exactly how I make them. They don’t die in the hole. All or nothing. Ten feet past or off the back of the cup and in. And then, to cap it off, DJ talked during his post-round interview. Like really talked.
Ninety seconds? That’s like, three years in DJ time. I feel like I heard his voice more in this interview than I have in years, and I’m not mad about it! And then came Paulina, who had their sons Tatum and River on FaceTime. Hey guys, your dad just won $4 million. No big deal!
Next up came the celebrations for DJ and his team.
I need you all to see these incredible photos of DJ.
DJ after winning on Sunday
onathan Ferrey/LIV Golf via Getty Images
DJ celebrating his LIV win
onathan Ferrey/LIV Golf via Getty Images
DJ celebrating his LIV win
onathan Ferrey/LIV Golf via Getty Images
I am obsessed with these images. Partly because they’re of DJ, but also partly because they remind me so much of the blurry photos we’d take at bars and college and then upload to a Facebook album with some cryptic album title. Either way, these have been saved to my camera roll.
If there’s anything we know about the Gretzky-Johnson family, it’s that they like to celebrate. Their bachelor/bachelorette festivies were proof of that, but so were these posts from their private flight back to Florida last night.
DJ and Paulina
Paulina Gretzky
Gretzky spent a day exploring Harvard last week, and those sweatpants are from the bookstore. Who doesn’t love some good college merch?
And finally, we got this photo of DJ’s whole crew. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Joaquin Niemann got a ride home from these guys. I can’t help but wonder if Paulina asked him to take the above photo!
DJ’s flight home
Paulina Gretzky
Alrighty folks. Channel that energy: Live today like you’ve been offered a ride home in your friend’s private jet. We’ll see you next week!
Feel free to share your thoughts with the author at claire.rogers@golf.com.
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