eBusiness Weekly
Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we are never touching an opponent’s golf ball again. As we learned at the Solheim Cup, if you do it within 10 seconds of a missed putt and the ball is basically within 10 inches of the hole, the miss can count as a make since you didn’t give it enough chance to let it go in. Wow. But while golf failed yet another test of common sense over the weekend, it earned another A+ in drama and excitement. Let’s get to everything else happening before you have a chance to pick up x out.
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Patrick Cantlay: He didn’t quite putt like he did at Caves Valley, but it was good enough to get the job done and convert that 144-hole lead into a first FedEx Cup title. And while there’s plenty of debate over where that accomplishment stacks up, for someone who doesn’t have a major championship yet, we’re guessing it feels like one.
Speaking of majors, how is it possible this guy only has two career top 10s in golf’s four biggest events? With that putting? And the ability to hit that drive and 6-iron on the final hole with $15 MILLION on the line?! I honestly don’t know how they do it. Well, I guess it helps that guys like Cantlay and Jon Rahm already have that much money in the bank. But still, that was impressive.
Europe in team competitions: What is their special sauce?! And don’t tell me it’s brown sauce, because I’ve been to England and that stuff is awful. But seriously, European golfers have been a shining example that the sum is greater than the parts in recent Ryder/Solheim Cups. Then again, maybe the parts are always underrated. I mean, how good was Leona Maguire? What a performance. And Catriona Matthew should be called Captain Giant Slayer after leading a second consecutive “upset,” this time on foreign soil.
If this is an omen of things to come, Team USA is going to have a tough time at Whistling Straits in a couple weeks. Who are we kidding? Of course they’re going to have a tough time. They’re playing Europe.
PGA Tour’s new docuseries: The PGA Tour and Netflix are collaborating on a docuseries for the 2021-2022 season that will reportedly follow the streaming service’s model of “Drive to Survive,” a show about Formula 1 racers. The best part about doing one on golf is they don’t have to change the title! And as Golf.com’s Alan Bastable noted, there’s a great opportunity for a “Netflix and Phil” slogan. But really, this is exciting because Netflix has delivered some incredible content the past few years—excluding “Emily in Paris,” of course.
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Patrick Cantlay as Player of the Year: Sorry, Patty Ice, but we’re Team Rahmbo on this one. Cantlay won four PGA Tour events to Rahm’s one, but if you give Rahm credit for a win at the Memorial where he led by six before that WD due to a positive COVID test, and you factor in that Rahm actually beat Cantlay at East Lake, that becomes much closer. Plus, Rahm led the tour in scoring average and strokes gained total and his 15 top 10s were as many as Cantlay and Collin Morikawa combined. Given how much good golf Rahm played, it’s kind of crazy he only won once. Even if it was a major. That being said, based on Rory McIlroy’s POY over Brooks Koepka in 2019, there’s a good chance Cantlay gets the vote from his peers. Not that Cantlay will care much either way after taking home $15 million. And that cool Coca-Cola machine. Although, as a finely tuned athlete, Patrick, you probably don’t want all that soda in your house. Let me know, because I’ve got room in mine. Well, I’ll make room.
Taylor Montgomery’s luck: There were some great stories at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, most notably Joseph Bramlett winning to get back to the PGA Tour and Justin Lower earning his card for the first time.
On the flip side, though, there was Montgomery. For a second time in four weeks, this UNLV grad missed out by one spot, finishing No. 26 on the KFT Finals list after also finishing in that brutal spot at the conclusion of the regular season. I never thought I could feel bad for someone who once won $75K in a putting contest, but yeah, I feel bad.
Especially because playing in the U.S. Open—and forfeiting any potential KFT points that week—probably cost him his card. Anyway, to all the PGA Tour events out there, let’s show this guy some love next season with some sponsor exemptions.
Charley Hull’s pre-shot routine: What in the world is this?
Talk about a course superintendent’s nightmare! Then again, maybe this was all part of Europe’s plan to play the role of underdog and let the Americans get too comfortable. If so, brilliant. – Crazy. golfdigest.com
