Scottie Scheffler, however, saw no need to make it a fifth straight nail-biter.
Here are 18 parting thoughts from a rather quirky Players Championship.
Those two and Rory McIlroy have each held the world No.
Both the Texan and the Spaniard are big boys who hit the ball a miledistinctly modern characteristics.
But theyre both refreshingly old-school in the way they approach the game.
Chipping contests, money matches with friends, trying crazy shots for crazy shots sake.
You also wont find neither Scheffler nor Rahms swing in any instruction books.
They are unconventional motions, to say the least.
You cant teach that, Rahm once said of Schefflers unique move.
If you try, youd probably end up hurting people.
I haven’t actively tried to change my swing in over 10 years, Rahm said in 2021.
I have the swing I have …
I think that is one of the keys to why I’m consistent.
I don’t change it.
I play with what I have and take a stab at improve from what I have.
Schefflers similarly uninterested in aesthetics.
Theres a lesson there: optics are overrated, both for the amateur and the professional.
Looks at the two best players on the planet.
So I asked if he drinks coffee on those early mornings as a pick-me-up.
I make myself coffee every morning at home, but I don’t do it when I play.
Yeah, just no need.
It’s kind of my like routine at home.
I started doing it after the Open last year.
I just got an espresso machine and started learning how to use it, and it’s fun.
So I just do that in the morning and sit there and read and start my day.
That doesnt give you a headache?
Nope…maybe Im making my espresso wrong or something like that?
I couldnt wrap my head around thisdrinking coffee every morning and then going cold turkey on tournament weeks?
But it seems hes not alone.
I guess it makes senseprofessionals often seem to be moving in slow motion.
They think things through, wanting to check that they consider all variables before a decision.
Theyve got syrupy tempo with every club other than driver and they have great touch on the greens.
Coffee, in theory, would make it harder to maintain that deliberate rhythm.
Still, though, Id be struggling with a headache.
Guess Ill have to try the non-caffeinated strategy soon.
Pace of play has reemerged as a topic of conversation.
It wasnt too long ago, back before the pre-LIV universe, when slow play was Public Enemy No.
1 on the PGA Tour.
It hasnt worked, at all, but weve been too distracted by all the LIV talk to notice.
There was precisely zero chance the Players finished its second round on Friday even if it had never rained.
The culprits are multiple.
Players are also instructed by sports psychologist to check-out when its not their turn to hit.
The final twosome on Sunday needed 4 hours and 45 minutes to finish.
The PGA Tour seems to find no issue with this.
We’re a membership organization, said Gary Young, the tours chief referee.
We make a run at maximize the starts for our members.
That’s just the way it is.
The numbers are the numbers.
It’s a mathematical equation.
it’s possible for you to figure it out.
There’s just, you know, at times there is too many groups.
So we’re comfortable with that, and until that changes, we will continue doing that.
Im not buying it.
Or enforce a faster pace than 5 hours for a threesome?
The good news is this shouldnt be an issue with next years designated events and their 75-man fields.
Self-deprecation seems to be all the rage these days.
But hes not the only star who seemed to miss the only-positive-self-talk part of orientation.
(He entered the week at No.
Im not, he said with his signature sheepish smile.
Youre telling me theres only 28 guys better than me?
There are parts of my game that are good.
But then there are other parts that suck.
And then theres Theegala and Dahmen, both quick to highlight their weaknesses.
Theres no one perfect attitude for this game, just as theres no one perfect swing.
There did seem to be a certain randomness to the leaderboard for the majority of the week.
The average world ranking of the top 16 players after two rounds was 92.2.
Cam Davis, who wound up finishing sixth, came in off five consecutive missed cuts.
Min Woo Lee also missed the weekend in his previous start and contended all week.
Still, predicting the Players remains a fools errand.
Jordan Spieth sees the randomness differently.
I don’t particularly love this place.
When you say it like that, that’s not exactly a good thing I don’t think.
Odd…a pretty perfect word for the leaderboard all week.
Apart, of course, from Scottie.
Runner-up Tyrrell Hatton, too, was early-late.
An exception does not invalidate a rule.
As such, Jerry Kellys highly impressive effort does not justify his spot in the tournament.
Congrats to Kelly for a great week.
Min Woo Lees not a very big dude.
His 60 official listing feels generous, and hes not quite 170 pounds.
His clubbed speed, however?
He can smash that driving iron at 170 ball speed and carry it more than 270 yards.
But Lee clearly didnt feel comfortable smashing driver on Sunday while his playing partner, Scottie Scheffler, did.
That conservative strategywhich goes against the send it strategy that the data calls forput him at a significant disadvantage.
Consider the 4th hole, where both Lee and Scheffler missed the fairway.
Lee fatted his third and made a tournament-killing triple bogey.
Scheffler escaped with par.
Lee tried to beat a field full of the best players without having confidence in his driver.
Thats nearly impossible to do.
Mike Tirico, man.
What an announcer that guy is.
He is a generational broadcasting talent and were lucky each and every time he steps into the booth.
Having less hours of content than it did in years prior?
Today, we feel further from that goal than we did three years ago.
Its now fair to call out what have been very slow starts for Justin Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick.
10 in the world rankings and No.
12 in Data Golfs rankings.
Theyre both officially Searching.
There were, however, a few pieces of news that caught my eye.
First, the PGA Tour sought to emphasize some hypocrisy from the Saudis.
From theWall Street Journal.
The Saudis are making a somewhat different case than the one they made to the Premier League.
In a filing submitted this week, PIF argues that it is part of a foreign government.
So…which is it?
Is the PIF independent from the government, or part of it?
Thats the negative news in the LIV-verse.
It was something that we built earlier this week.
It’s nice to have something trusty.
Its hard to switch away from something comfortable.
Who among us hasnt done that?
Because putting together two nines is never easy.
He then askednay, beggedhis caddie for it to be OK.
Did it cover?
It went in the water?
No fun at all.
Which brings us to our next point.
Its not that it bothers anyone; it just seems like he talks himself into some negative thoughts.
He talked about the snap hook and then hit one.
I enjoy nothing about being at the cut line.
I seem to have a really hard time refocusing on the lead and pushing forward.
He was that guy, once, and now it seems like Scottie and Rahm are that guy.
People often ask in a general term about experience, Harrington said at the 2021 PGA Championship.
Well, as you gain experience, you lose innocence.
Xander Schauffele had to battle to make the cut this week.
I try really hard to not give extra weight to any shot.
Its hard to obviously do that, but thats what I strive to do…youre definitely grinding.
You cant shoot 14 under on the weekend if youre not here.
Its definitely different (with no cut).
You might see more stellar golf.
You might see more crazy shots on Thursday and Friday.
Ive had a lot of dramatic misses and dramatic makes of cuts.
But were not losing it completely, the big events will still have them.
Its a change thats been made, but you saw how quickly it was made.
The ultimate goal is the best product.
The average golf fan might want to see a cut, wants to see guys slug it out.
Then the tour would have to reassess.
If it sucks, well change it again.
Man, did I feel bad for a while there on Saturday morning while tracking Nico Echavarria.
Of course, I invited him on the show.
He wanted to know if the offer stood no matter what he shot at the Players.
Just break 80 both of the first two days, I told him.
Nico opened with a one-under 71, so I thought thered be no issues.
But he struggled in the wind on Friday afternoon, shooting six-over 42 on his front nine holes.
He did exactly that.
Best 79 of my life, he texted after the round.
And so Nico Echavarria will absolutely be making an appearance on the Fore Play podcast.
So, of course, he flew home in seat 21C.
The regular Monday Rap will return next week.
Until next week,
Dan
