2024 PGA Tour

johnmd20

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His tee-to-green game has been so good over the past 2 years that Tiger is a legitimate comparable.

The putter was bad. Like almost worst on tour and he still top 5’d basically every week. This week was mediocre putting. 37th of 73 to make the cut. He was 30th in strokes gained putting today and still shot a 64. That’s all he needs to win. If he ever becomes above average, it’s over.
Like last week when he was hot with the putter and won by 5 strokes in a laugher.

And, yes, Scottie has won two weeks in a row, has won the Masters, is the world's number one, and is on the leaderboard of every tourney he plays. If you don't know who he is, you aren't following golf even a little bit. Which is fine. But Scottie is A list by a mile.
 

Deathofthebambino

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For those interested, another Andover guy, Evan Harmeling (for those that may remember, he won a Korn Ferry event a year or two ago and made news because he wore the same outfit that made him look like the Gorton Fisherman on Saturday and Sunday because he's superstitious) has qualified for the Puerto Rico Open. I've known Evan since before he went off to college, just an incredible player, but this will be his first ever PGA Tour event:

https://www.instagram.com/misterharmeling/reel/C4HBJaYNjGT/
Because of his top 10 in Puerto Rico, Evan got into the Valspar this week. Finished +1 after round 1, so probably 1-2 back of the cut line heading into tomorrow.
 

BaseballJones

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Scottie in his last 26 events has 4 wins, 17 top 5’s and 21 top 10’s, all while being a mediocre putter at best. Truly remarkable run.
I don't even know how he does it. He looks way off balance every time he swings, and he has a little hitch in his swing. It's amazing that he's such a consistently great ball striker with near impeccable distance control.
 

cshea

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Ha, I was literally just about to post this.
He was scrambling yesterday, even though he scored well. He's got some things to work on, starting with his driver.
He had a severe case of the lefts yesterday. Not sure what happened today.

Valspar is a sneaky good tournament. Always a million guys in contention.
 

cshea

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It’s because there is a Carson Young on tour. So every tournament, Cameron and Carson have their full names on the leaderboard. Don’t know why they don’t do Cam and Car.
 

Dave Stapleton

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This tournament should be added to the “special ones”. Tough course for sure. Nice drama here with Cam Young looking for his first and Malnati a long time journeyman on the PGA board.
 

Dave Stapleton

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This is where the PGA blows it. They don’t know how to package these stories and just punt when stars aren’t there … or are just rudderless.

They really need to move on from Monahan to a leader with actual vision and skills.

Get that Yellow ball to the Masters!
 

Mooch

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Van Valkenburg is being pretty naive, IMO. I picked a truly random PGA season (1975) to see how many first time winners there were during an era where the stars dominated. In ‘75 I counted EIGHT guys who are largely journeyman/random dudes: Groh, Fitzsimmons, McGee, Massengale, Jenkins, Maltbie, Bies and Iverson. Several of those guys were ham and egg golfers just like Malnati. This kind of thing happens all the time during a long golf season.
 

Average Reds

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Van Valkenburg is being pretty naive, IMO. I picked a truly random PGA season (1975) to see how many first time winners there were during an era where the stars dominated. In ‘75 I counted EIGHT guys who are largely journeyman/random dudes: Groh, Fitzsimmons, McGee, Massengale, Jenkins, Maltbie, Bies and Iverson. Several of those guys were ham and egg golfers just like Malnati. This kind of thing happens all the time during a long golf season.
He’s not being naive, he’s being willfully obtuse.

I have no problem with casual fans of golf who are disappointed because they can’t see some of the bigger names. But anyone who claims that the Tour is boring because they don’t know who the winners are is simply identifying themselves as a fool.
 

Dave Stapleton

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He’s not being naive, he’s being willfully obtuse.

I have no problem with casual fans of golf who are disappointed because they can’t see some of the bigger names. But anyone who claims that the Tour is boring because they don’t know who the winners are is simply identifying themselves as a fool.
So here’s the thing. I don’t think you’re being fair. I think the PGA is rudderless and without vision. To blame the fans is arrogant and missing the point.

I know Malnati. Was moved by his tears and psyched for him. But I listen to NLU and Foreplay. Calling the very fans they need (and who watched because of the cat) fools misses what’s important here.
 

Average Reds

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So here’s the thing. I don’t think you’re being fair. I think the PGA is rudderless and without vision. To blame the fans is arrogant and missing the point.

I know Malnati. Was moved by his tears and psyched for him. But I listen to NLU and Foreplay. Calling the very fans they need (and who watched because of the cat) fools misses what’s important here.
I either explained myself poorly or I fundamentally misunderstood the tweet from Van Valkenburg, because I agree completely with you.
 

Dave Stapleton

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I either explained myself poorly or I fundamentally misunderstood the tweet from Van Valkenburg, because I agree completely with you.
Fair. I didn’t understand his tweet either. I will be listening to the NLU podcast tonight and hopefully he is on to explain.

Today is exactly the type of day that the PGA should be using to tell stories and differentiate itself.
 

cshea

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I didn't read the KVV tweet in the same way. I read it as him illustrating how unlikely a Malnati win was, that even Malnati didn't think Malnati could win.
 

Mooch

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I didn't read the KVV tweet in the same way. I read it as him illustrating how unlikely a Malnati win was, that even Malnati didn't think Malnati could win.
I suppose it could be read that way. To me, the “damning” referred to the state of the PGA post LIV.
 

TFP

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I don't think the "damning" part referred to him winning or the state of the PGA Tour post LIV, I think the "damning" part was the fact that he could go 10+ years without ever once being in contention and still keep a tour card. More a comment on the last 10-15 years of pro golf than anything.
 

cshea

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I suppose it could be read that way. To me, the “damning” referred to the state of the PGA post LIV.
I thought the "damning admission" was referring to Malnati not being able to recall being in contention on Sunday despite having played on Tour for more than a decade. I didn't think it was commentary on the current state of the PGA Tour, I thought it was just driving home how unlikely a winner Malnati was.
 

Comfortably Lomb

Koko the Monkey
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"Damning" feels like a weird take assuming it was meant to be commentary about Malnati's skill level. The tour has always had a few journeyman type guys kicking around for years capable of maintaining a tour card but not winning/contending. Doing that is impressive in its own way. IMO it's neat when one of those guys finally wins one.

I don't think the Tour is good at marketing / selling its product / adapting to the times at all. I've been watching some of Bryson's YouTube content lately and I can't help but think the Tour blew it with him. I think he comes off as a likeable, makes decent content, and certainly gets views on his videos. But the Tour treated him like a weirdo and basically made fun of him because he wasn't another cookie cutter tour pro. No wonder he jumped ship given the opportunity.
 

4 6 3 DP

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KVV uses the word "damning" in his next tweet (or previous) regarding Kim Mulvey, so I don't think it's a word he was placing with a lot of precision. I also believe since a follow up tweet says "Malnati Rules...what a delightful nerd" - I think he's using Damning as a reference to Malnati performing a self-own.
 

cshea

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Eh, they had Bryson as front and center of the golf universe for a year or two. It's not their fault he had a habit acting like an asshole while on camera.
 

Comfortably Lomb

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KVV uses the word "damning" in his next tweet (or previous) regarding Kim Mulvey, so I don't think it's a word he was placing with a lot of precision. I also believe since a follow up tweet says "Malnati Rules...what a delightful nerd" - I think he's using Damning as a reference to Malnati performing a self-own.
Oh, so, Twitter sports guy was just using strong words to draw attention? I get it. Meh.

Getting a tour card in the first place is brutally difficult. Maintaining it for years is even harder.

Eh, they had Bryson as front and center of the golf universe for a year or two. It's not their fault he had a habit acting like an asshole while on camera.
I guess my impression at this point is the Tour / golf media went out of their way to portray him poorly. Maybe he's mellowed over the past few years (and he was early 20s when he broke out which may not be the best age to have a camera shoved in your face) but I just recall a lot of being dumped on by entrenched announcers and tour players.
 

cshea

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I guess my impression at this point is the Tour / golf media went out of their way to portray him poorly. Maybe he's mellowed over the past few years (and he was early 20s when he broke out which may not be the best age to have a camera shoved in your face) but I just recall a lot of being dumped on by entrenched announcers and tour players.
It's kind of besides the point, I agree with the overall comment that the Tour sucks at marketing and promoiting their players. They do a terrible job of it. I think Bryson is a bad example. Most of his issues were self-inflicted. A non-exhaustive list:
  • He was called out for slow play after a video of him taking 4 minutes to line up an 8-foot putt with JT rolling his eyes in the back ground went viral. A flabbergasted Bryson said he was actually the fastest walker to the ball and therefor not slow. He then tried to fight Brooks and Brooks' caddie the next day.
  • He hit a ball under a fence at the Memorial and tried to argue the ball was in bounds, demanding 2nd and 3rd opinions when the ruling didn't go his way.
  • He tried to argue he deserved relief due to red ants under the dangerous animal exception.
  • He destroyed a bunker at the 3M after a poor shot and berated a cameraman for filming the meltdown stating the cameraman should be protecting the players images.
  • He threw his Cobra under the bus, saying "the driver sucks" after a bad round at The Open. He was angry that despite trying to push 200mph ball speed, the ball wasn't going down the middle of the fairway. Cobra basically responded saying he's a jerk to work with, he's never happy.
A lot of these were caught because he was the center of the golf universe for 2-3 years.

I admittedly haven't watched a second of his YouTube channel but I'm guessing the Bryson in front of those cameras is very different than candid Bryson.
 

TFP

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Getting a tour card in the first place is brutally difficult. Maintaining it for years is even harder.
Is it though? You can never sniff contention in a tourney for 10 years, even in watered down alternate events, and still keep your card, apparently. Doesn't sound that hard to me, if anything in the past it was hard to LOSE your card, which was KVV's whole point.
 

TheGazelle

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Is it though? You can never sniff contention in a tourney for 10 years, even in watered down alternate events, and still keep your card, apparently. Doesn't sound that hard to me, if anything in the past it was hard to LOSE your card, which was KVV's whole point.
So if I'm doing this correctly, he won in 2015, thereby exempting him to 2018. Since then:

2018-2019: 18/26 cuts made; 7 top 25s; 1 top 10 ($864k official money) - 118th FedEx
2019-2020: 10/21 cuts made; 4 top 25s; 0 top 10 ($561k official money) - 137th FedEx
2020-2021: 12/30 cuts made; 5 top 25s; 3 top 10; 1 runner-up ($1.429M official money) - 86th FedEx
2021-2022: 20/31 cuts made; 6 top 25s; 2 top 10 ($1.288M official money) - 101st FedEx
2022-2023: 14/35 cuts made; 6 top 25; 2 top 10 ($1.369M official money) - 116th FedEx

So if I'm reading the rules correctly, he's kept his card the last few years by staying within the top 125 on the FedEx standings. He's also had some occasional top 25s/top 10s. He's definitely been grinding.

I don't know if this proves your point or not, but I started typing it out and then committed to finishing.
 

voidfunkt

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Week before The Masters is an interesting time to fire your caddy so I'm going to assume this was Bones firing JT and he wants to get back into the booth since its gauranteed money that JT isn't providing by winning right now.
 

cshea

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The timing is interesting but bad JT had $3.5 million in on course earnings last season and is already just about at $1.9 million this year. I have no idea what the payment structure is for a higher end caddie like Bones but if he's getting between 5-10% of the players earnings, that's $175,000-$350,000 last year. He's not going to beat that joining a broadcast.
 

Average Reds

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The timing is interesting but bad JT had $3.5 million in on course earnings last season and is already just about at $1.9 million this year. I have no idea what the payment structure is for a higher end caddie like Bones but if he's getting between 5-10% of the players earnings, that's $175,000-$350,000 last year. He's not going to beat that joining a broadcast.
This is correct, but he could also have come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to add too much to JT's game, so better for them to part as friends (while he looks for another top player) than to continue on and end up with a (non) relationship like he has with Mickelson. Or maybe he was just fired. Who knows?

The key is that after two decades on Mickelson's bag and a few with JT, Bones isn't hurting for money these days. If this was his choice, it may just be a reflection of the fact that he can do what he wants.

Whatever the answer, its very odd timing.
 

cshea

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This is correct, but he could also have come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to add too much to JT's game, so better for them to part as friends (while he looks for another top player) than to continue on and end up with a (non) relationship like he has with Mickelson. Or maybe he was just fired. Who knows?

The key is that after two decades on Mickelson's bag and a few with JT, Bones isn't hurting for money these days. If this was his choice, it may just be a reflection of the fact that he can do what he wants.

Whatever the answer, its very odd timing.
I think Bones will go back to broadcasting and if the right opportunity comes around, he'll consider caddying again. He's about to turn 60 and is financially secure. After he split with Mickelson he jumped into the broadcasting world and seemed conten and happy but the JT opportunity was too good for him to pass up (at the time JT was a 28 year old 14 time winner with a major and top 3 player in the world). Most of the stars/elite players seem entrenched with their current caddies but I guess you never know.
 

jercra

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I think Bones will go back to broadcasting and if the right opportunity comes around, he'll consider caddying again. He's about to turn 60 and is financially secure. After he split with Mickelson he jumped into the broadcasting world and seemed conten and happy but the JT opportunity was too good for him to pass up (at the time JT was a 28 year old 14 time winner with a major and top 3 player in the world). Most of the stars/elite players seem entrenched with their current caddies but I guess you never know.
Bones also does more paid speaking engagements than you could imagine. He's the MC for soooo many corporate ProAms and other golf related events (and is awesome at it).