What an unforgettable week at Valhalla, in the truest sense of the word.
There is so much to discuss.
Here are 18 Parting Thoughts from Valhalla.
1.For a sport that moves so slowly, legacies change awfully quickly.
We can officially retire theXander cant closenarrative.
It wasnt just that he won his first major championship; its the way he did it.
That bogey 6 on the par-5 10th was gut-check time.
Viktor Hovland was making moves up ahead, and Xander looked poised to unravel.
He responded with a dart into the par-3 11th.
A 3-wood down the middle on 12, then a super aggressive high cut into a back-right pin.
Instead, he played supper aggressively yet again and pushed his second up short of the green.
He played a nice one but not a perfect one, leaving an ass-clencher for the win.
Ive become very patient not knocking off any wins in the last couple years, Schauffele said.
The people closest to me know how stubborn I can be.
Winning, I said it earlier, is a result.
It’s super sweet.
Its all different now.
All it took was a 65 at Valhalla Golf Club.
2.The turnaround in Brysons public image has been truly remarkable.
He had the most support of any of the contenders on Sunday afternoon.
The future, it just seems so much more positive than where I was.
YouTube has been a great platform to help that out.
The Break 50 series are a lot of fun.
I love doing it.
It’s a lot of fun.
It’s a challenge that’s never been done nor accomplished without any strokes.
The emotions after making that putt on 18, the way he interacted with the crowd afterward.
Hes leaning into his entertainer era and it clearly hasnt come with any negative impacts on his golf game.
All is well in the world of Bryson.
3.Regarding Mr. Scottie Scheffler and the events of Friday morning.
I dont have much to add beyond it was just a really, really horrible confluence of events.
A horrific accident that killed a volunteer.
A resulting backup that caused the traffic jam that Scheffler was innocuously trying to get around.
None of this wouldve happened had that man not been killed.
Its no ones fault, per se.
Sometimes terrible things just happen.
The ball sits right on top of the grass, which is a little spongy in texture.
They can fly a 3 wood over a bunker and still stop it on the putting surface.
So they already have that ability on all grass types, but especially so this week.
Heres how Ludvig Aberg described it.
you’ve got the option to get a little bit more smash on it.
5.On the flip side, I didnt love the setup this week.
Didnt love anything else.
But there are things they can controlnamely, there were such few penalties off the tee.
Heres what I mean.
The hole is so, so much harder if that water is in play.
Only the water wasnt in play.
Like, at all.
Xander Schauffele hit a borderline snap-hook on the 2nd hole on Sunday.
Thats the exact shot that should go in the water.
He knocked it up by the green and got up-and-down for par.
Surely thats a way, way better hole if the waters actually in play?
That seems like kind of a no-brainer?
Its a beautiful golf course in a beautiful area, and the members I met were lovely people.
But, statistically and eye-test wise this was by far the easiest major championship setup in history.
Its a feature of the course, not a bug.
Theres just not a lot of junk.
Guys play from the same spot a lot.
Id argue that in this day in age the principle motivation is attracting eyeballs.
This is an entertainment product.
Golf broadcasts arent trying to cater to people like myself because were going to watch anyway.
It has nothing to do with the golf course.
And this, this produced drama.
Of course, its not so black and white.
But that wasnt the case this week.
Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick all missed the cut.
As far as entertainment goes, Valhalla produced.
7.Theres a giant chasm between the online ecosystem and real, tangible life.
You know the ones Im talking about.
What was the hat that flew off the shelves quickest this week?
That the most people rocked with pride?
Its vital to touch grass.
I do feel like the internet probably makes it seem worse than it really is, Homa said Tuesday.
It’s a very small community and they’re incredibly loud.
For the most part: Loud and excited but respectful, well-served and jovial but not shitfaced.
9.Speaking of grass…Ive never seen such lush lawns as I have here in Louisville.
It makes sensetheyre all Kentucky bluegrass, and were in Kentucky.
It almost feels unfair how easy it is to keep a beautiful patch of grass in your backyard here.
10.I find Sahith Theegalas outlook on himself and professional golf fascinating.
I remember asking him last year about his world rankinghe was No.
Youre telling me theres only 28 guys better than me?
12 player in the world.
There’s guys out on LIV that are better golfers than me from an objective standpoint, and subjective.
But I definitely feel myself getting better on and off the course.
Is this a character trait?
Is he a bit self-deprecating, like Joel Dahmen?
In his senior year at Pepperdine, Theegala swept all the major college player of the year awards.
Did he feel like the best player then?
Yeah, I did feel like I was the best player that year.
I don’t know if I’m ever going to feel that way again.
We all strive to get to that point.
And the answer is no.
Or even Brooks; the answer is no.
There is no one right attitude in this sport.
What works for Brooks doesnt work for Scottie, and what works for Scottie doesnt work for Bryson.
Its extremely rare, however, to find a guy as humble and realistic as Sahith.
Easy guy to root for.
That, obviously, has not materialized.
That broke his streak of 18 straight made cuts in majors, which was the longest going.
He surely prepared himself for this reality, where he goes to LIV and theres no deal.
But he probably didnt think it would happen.
That cant feel great.
12.Two of the games brightest young stars recently reunited with men who helped usher them toward greatness.
Collin Morikawa first took a lesson from Rick Sessinghaus at an executive course at the age of 8.
Sessinghaus isnt the normal swing instructor who speaks in terms like thoracic or pronate.
Hes part coach, part golf therapist.
Sessinghaus coached Collin all the way up to last years Ryder Cup.
What followed was a brief foray with Mark Blackburn, Golf Digests No.
1 coach in America and instructor to Max Homa, Justin Rose and many other tour pros.
Sometimes you need that.
Sometimes you need someone to just talk it through and get back to playing golf.
That’s what we’ve kind of gone back to.
Not really trying to reinvent the wheel right now.
His fellow Class of 19er, Viktor Hovland, also made a switch late last year.
But it wasnt after a barren stretch of play like Collins.
Quite the contraryit came after the best stretch of golf of his life.
Why, then, would he make a change?
That, and Mayos a unique personality that can be too much for some.
Stillwhy fix something that isnt broken?
Hovlands game took a major dive this year.
So he reached out to Mayo and saw immediate results this week.
He knows my swing really well, Hovalnd said Thursday.
These are both case studies in the ever-active mind of any golfer, but especially the professional.
Tiger Woods left Butch Harmon after playing literally the best golf anyones ever played.
Itll never make sense to us normal folk.
13.Speaking of Tiger WoodsI was actually encouraged by what I saw this week.
At least, before his post-round presser on Friday.
I know, I know.
But stick with me here.
Firstly, I was about as down as Ive ever been about his future prospects at Augusta.
He completely ran out of gas on the weekend.
Forget the golf game; just the way he moved around was hard to watch.
He looked much better physically than at Valhalla did at Augusta National.
Im definitely getting stronger, he said Thursday.
His gait was smoother.
The issue, then, is that he just isnt playing tournament rounds to get any sort of rhythm.
Hes making very, very silly mistakes.
Players coming off injury almost always take time to play their way back to where they were.
For Woods, every time he tees it up is his first time back after a long layoff.
He was asked if he feels his game will improve, and immediately my optimism turned to confusion.
I just got to – I need to play more.
Hopefully everything will somehow come together in my practice sessions at home and be ready for Pinehurst.
This weeks came on the 5th hole on Thursday.
JT didnt get off the greatest start but had just hearted a 15 footer to get into red figures.
Schauffele, on the other hand, was flying.
Xander brushed it in the center and JT gave that little headshake.
You know which one Im talking about.
Like,man, this guy just wont fucking miss.
We often think of these players as single-minded cyborgs in their own little bubble, but theyre just people.
JT did a little Shaka sign, Xander nodded back, and they moved to the next tee.
Been there, dude.
15.Lets talk about grips.
More specifically, how professional golfers grip the club.
Youd think this wouldnt be something they even consider.
Thats the domain of novices, of beginners.
When Ludvig Aberg starts hitting it squarely, its one of the first things he checks.
Most of my work that I do is fundamentals.
Sometimes it really is that simple.
Even with the best players in the world.
16.Alejandro Tosti is quite the character.
The young Argentine built quite the reputation on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Lets call him…fiery.
Hes been penalized for rules infractions, hes rumored to not pay caddies very well, hes been suspended.
Hes a wild child.
Its just not something you really see.
It finished just 7 feet from the hole and he buried the eagle.
That led to the best shot dispersion chart youll ever see.
Sick, sick, sick.
Our game needs more characters, not less.
Im all in on Tosti.
17.Its PGA Championship week, so we gotta highlight a club pro who balled out.
Thats all his back can take.
18.Its funny which shots entrench themselves in your memory.
Hed just turned in 29 and had a bounce in his step.
It was a spot to get up and down from with a back-right pin.
Only it didnt plug the normal way.
I was on a good run, and I hit a great second shot straight at the flag.
Obviously just come up a few yards short.
Obviously rolled up the face and rolled back in its pitch mark.
Just an awful break, and he had to hack out his third just over the green.
He did well to make par.
But as golfers we always think back to the one or two shots you really shouldve saved.
And that janky ass fried egg is one of the more maddeningI shouldve shot thispossible.
We’ll see you at Pinehurst.
