Well friends, it’s been a bit since we last spoke. Since the last major and I gotta say it’s been a pretty uneventful stretch. I mean seriously, has any news come out in the golf world over the last month that you can remember? Sure, we saw Monahan and MBS’ right hand man have a fireside chat on CNBC, making the biggest announcement in golf in the last 100 years.. but it’s not like we all didn’t see that coming, right? Oh yeah, they didn’t tell a fucking soul. I do apologize for not writing about this last week, but you know how the Afroman song goes..
That being said, here’s a quick recap of events in case you live under a rock, including some interesting bits for talking golf at work with the guy that only kinda knows what’s going on with all this LIV stuff. If you already know everything there is to know, I guess you can just skip this section — but I figured it’s worth breaking down for those who want some answers.
PGA/LIV Recap
Well, I think we all absolutely blew our minds when the news broke and saw big Jay chatting with Yasir last Monday. In case you missed it, PGA and the Saudi Public Investment Fund struck a deal to combine forces. It goes without saying that Jay Monahan could be the biggest hypocrite you’ve ever seen in your life. This man really pulled the 9/11 card, couldn’t stop calling LIV blood money, then proceeded to play one round of golf with a quadrillionaire and realized that blood money can still go through direct deposit. They made the deal with about 10 people in the room (making it just about the shadiest thing you can imagine), but nevertheless here we are – and golf is about to be fucking BACK. From what I understand, here is a quick recap of what’s coming:
- The PGA will remain the same, just a little extra cash from our boys out East
- PGA, DP World Tour and the PIF will combine to create a third tour
- My ideal dream for this league will be some sort of Champions League event-style, similar to soccer. Only the best get to play, formatting will be slightly different and teams will be involved. Oh, and the prizes will be fucking MASSIVE. Due to this, LIV will likely cease to exist. A lot of people say otherwise, but I don’t imagine the PIF is looking to fund the PGA, the new league and LIV; they got what they wanted – a seat at the table.
- Feels like that twat (yes, twat) Greg Norman is removed from his role of controlling anything. He was a massive factor stopping the PGA from ever making a deal and there’s a reason he wasn’t involved.
- LIV players will be allowed back onto the PGA, but at a cost. There will be a board deciding who should be allowed and they will be forced to pay some hefty fines based on everything that happened.
- This all could potentially not happen as no one in the room divulged specific details about the deal. The PGA was being investigated for being a monopoly and they have now created one of the clearest monopolies in the entire world. They hired some big time lawyers built for cutting these deals, but Congress announced today that there will be a full investigation into it all. I guess we just have to hope they don’t find Jay’s offshore accounts. If this fails, maybe we can all learn a lesson that if you’re ever making a multi-billion dollar deal; you might want to make some people aware.
- The fans won. If you have morals about Saudi money then I’m stunned you still read this page, honestly. But I think it’s time to take a look around the world and put those morals away. This will be the best scenario for us fans, and at this point the worst thing that can happen is the deal falls through and we’re left with an even bigger tear in golf.
Board of Directors Recap
That’s about all I have on the deal and I think we’re all sick of hearing about it so let’s talk some motherfuckingggg golf. Real quick, just a reminder that the Board is on an absolute tear lately, hitting five majors in a row, six if you count The Players and have given out seven winners this year. We are the hottest page on the internet and I can’t wait to drink the haters’ tears yet again.
Remembering the 2022 US Open
Last year, the impossible happened.. a guy with fuckin’ braces won the US Open.
In all seriousness though, it was an insane tournament where probably six different guys could have won it, just for us to find out winning the US Amateur at the same course gives an extreme advantage going in. Morikawa came out firing, fell off, then Scottie had it won with 9 holes to play, couldn’t get it done, and finally Fitz went into a bunker that nobody thought you could survive and came out with an insane par. After all of the drama, the second place king –Will Zalatoris — had a putt to push it to a playoff and missed it by a fraction of an inch. One of the best finishes in recent memory and I think everyone went home saying Fitz deserved it, and us fans got everything we could have asked for out of the tournament.
Some videos to refresh the memory:
THE OFFICIAL BREAKDOWN OF THE 2023 US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
The Course
This course is beautiful. It’s going to be a grueling test out there with extreme length, accuracy and putting. The course has Bentgrass greens with some crazy undulation, often compared to Augusta and Kapalua, while the rough is going to be insanely long (as is standard per every US Open). The par 3’s range from 290 yards to 124 yards, par 4’s ranging from 330 yards to 542 yards and par 5’s that range to highs of 623 yards. Every part of these players games will be tested to their absolute limit and it’s going to be a blast to watch.
Weather
Thank fucking God. We had to resort to going out to LA to finally get a golf tournament that didn’t have a rain delay – but we did it. Weather will be perfect — worst case it rains, but all we have to do is wait 40 minutes because it’s LA and it’ll be perfect out again shortly. I don’t think I can mentally handle another rain delay at a major, let alone the players, so I’m very pumped that we’re about to see a real tournament this week.
Featured Groups and TV Schedule
Gotta say, the US Open is about to deliver again. We have some stacked groups with even a little pretend drama with Brooks and Rory playing together. It’s unfortunate we’ll be watching the onslaught that will go down with Sam Bennett, but the kid deserves the coverage so it’s still pretty cool.
Odds For the Weekend
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Let’s get to it
What it Takes to Win
- The course is long, fairways are thin and the greens are small so we’re gonna need to see some of everything
- From what I understand, driving distance combined with accuracy will be the most important attribute here. It shouldn’t be a Bryson type tourney of just bomb it and deal with the rough – the distance and creativity of the course will play massive factors.
- We will also see a lot of guys pulling 3w off the tee and accepting 200+ yard approaches so consistency and responsibility off the tee will be very key.
- As always, we also need a bomber. The farther you hit it down the fairway will always be an advantage – just need to keep it in the fairway.
- SG: Putting – everyone will be focused on driving, but I think at the end of the day we’ve seen that no matter how well you play, it all comes down to the flat stick. Scottie gained 20 strokes against the field at the Memorial and still lost the tournament because of putting. These greens are going to be very tricky. History shows that the guys that putt the lights out will find their way to the top of the leaderboard
- SG: Approach – there’s going to be a lot of shots over 200 here, whether it be par 3, 4 or 5 — which will be a massive factor. If players can’t lock in on their longest woods/irons in the bag, it’s gonna get ugly. Look for guys that can be consistent with every single club in the bag and always get themselves on the green.
- SG: Around the Green – well it goes without saying that players are going to miss plenty of greens when constantly hitting woods so they’ll need to get handsy here to find some pars. Getting up and down and walking away with par will make a huge difference on every hole, birdies are great, pars are fine, bogeys will add up.
Who I’m Looking At
- Scottie and Rahm are once again the favorites, as they’ve been every single tournament this year — and it’s still extremely difficult to look the other way. I’m not going to bother explaining why because their stats and accolades speak for themselves. Don’t be afraid to sprinkle here and remember hitting a +700 is sick in ANY sport, just because it’s golf doesn’t change that
- Brooks is number three and there’s no denying the truth anymore. The major killer is back and I’m really not sure if he can be stopped. Brooks wrote the book on showing up in majors and the US Open was once his bread and butter. Personally, I am not ruling this out by any means.
- Rory, oh Rory. I just can’t do it anymore man. I bet this clown to win the PGA, the Memorial and even the fucking RBC and he just makes me feel dumber every time. I have no doubt he can win, but I will absolutely not be taking him (no, I’m not gonna go full Jay Monahan on this one)
- Who has the most strokes gained at all US Open courses over the last five years, you ask? The answer may surprise you — it’s Xander. This man has been chasing this title for years and just can’t seem to get there, his last five include, T6, T3, 5, T7, and T14. The worst part is, I have no faith in him to pull this off.
- Max Homa was everyone’s favorite pick here all year but has since fallen off odds-wise and playing wise. He holds the course record here and was on absolute fire during the west coast swing at the start of the year. +3000 seems pretty crazy to me, so I would definitely consider it.
- JT at +4800 is annoying. He has played horrible this year and might not even make the FedEx but are you really gonna take the risk of not putting $10 on him to win $480?
- Tyrell Hatton is slowly getting the respect he deserves but his odds are still too high. The guy has been on fire lately and despite his piss poor performance at the US Open over the years I am absolutely not ruling him out.
THE PICKS
Winner – Collin Morikawa +3500
Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has arrived. We have waited for our chance to fire, and the odds have finally reached the tipping point. For some reason, people think Morikawa has had a bad year thus far. He IS still in the top 10 in strokes gained on the field this year. He is still hitting his driver straight and accurate. He is a top five ball striker in the world AND he is a two time major champion for a reason. Collin is a Cali boy who won the last two majors in his home state and had a 4th place finish. This course gets comparisons to Augusta, Kapalua and Kiawah, all of which he placed top 10 in, yet he is listed at 35-1? He was playing some excellent golf at the Memorial before he had back spasms and had to WD; this is not a factor and in my opinion might make him play safer to avoid uncomfortable swings. Collin is going to constantly find fairways and show why he is the best iron player in the world. It’s time for this man to get his third championship.
First Round Leader – Xander Schauffele +2900
While I did say that I don’t think Xander can win this tournament, I definitely do think he can lead this tournament. Xander is Mr. Consistent at the US Open and it feels like the perfect time for him to jump out to a hot start — then unfortunately slowly watches it get taken away from him. He’ll be playing with Rahm and I foresee some stellar play between the two, leading to Xander going all in too early — but either way taking the lead going into the clubhouse. First round leaders are extremely difficult, especially at Majors so 29-1 is hard to turn down on a guy that has performed as well as him.
Dark Horse – Patty Reed +8000
Say what you will, but the man knows how to perform at Majors. Reed finished in the top five at The Masters and 18th at the PGA; the guy still knows when to show up and has proven to be a master at his craft when it comes to approaches and finding pars. He has an incredible track record at Augusta and Kapalua and just about any course with Bentgrass, so I can really see him making a run at this thing. You might hate him, you might love him — but either way, you can still make money off of him.
Scottie Sprinkles – Scottie to Win +700
You all knew I was going to do this as, at this point, it’s just something that needs to be done. Scottie has played out of his mind lately in every aspect of his game — except putting. While most guys would probably start self destructing, he still seems wildly optimistic and confident so I think he’s about to find his stroke once again. That being said, we by no means need him to putt the lights out. Hell, he can even lose strokes putting if he wants, we just need him to not be the worst in the field at it. If Scottie gets close to breaking even in strokes gained putting, I have no doubt he’ll finish top 5 here.
Random Prop – Corey Connors Hole in One +9000
Canada had its magic last week and I think could continue into this week. I have no other reasoning for this other than I scrolled down the list until I saw a name that screamed out to me — it just feels right.
Mortal Lock – Jordan Spieth Top 10 +220
This course is going to be wildly demanding and will require players to consistently hit both blind and uncomfortable shots. There is only one player that thrives more than any other in those situations — Jordan Spieth. We’ve seen the magic he’s pulled many times, and I expect him to make a run at this thing. Spieth has been up there in a bunch of tournaments lately and his odds are wildly high for what he has achieved. I will definitely be sprinkling on Spieth everything this week.
Three Putt Bogeys 