So iswhat’s your favorite course that you’ve gotten to play?
This is a long winded-way of saying Fitzpatrick has played so, so many truly iconic courses.
That doesn’t mean it’s the “best” golf course he’s played.
Perhaps it’s not the most architecturally significant nor the most challenging.
“Yeah, this one is the one that I’ve always wanted to win.
My family can tell you that, and my friends can tell you the same thing.
The Brit’s got his golf courses.
That much is for sure.
Which brings us to our next point.
Predictably, this incensed the decorous bunch on Golf Twitter.
This…this is part of the reason golf’s historically been such an easy target.
Personally, I loved it.
That kind of passion is celebrated in every other sport.
That’s the goal.
They simply rooted for their guy.
Fitzpatrick himself didn’t seem to mind.
If anything, it helped him lock in a touch more.
“But I felt like I had a lot of support out there myself.
But yeah, it was very, very nice to win.”
Yup…that’s sports.
People root for one entity and against the other entity.
One guy wins, and everyone moves on.
Crowds don’t have to root for everyone equally.
There was a real atmosphere out there, Fitzpatrick’s caddie, Billy Foster, told Golf Digest.
It was a “real atmosphere” because the fans cared.
That should be celebrated, not bemoaned.
Here are the newest top 15, in order, along with their major tally and PGA Tour victories.
Jon Rahm 2 majors/11 PGA Tour wins2.
Scottie Scheffler 1 major/6 PGA Tour wins3.
Rory McIlroy 4 majors/23 PGA Tour wins4.
Patrick Cantlay 0 majors/8 PGA Tour wins5.
Xander Schauffele 0 majors/7 PGA Tour wins6.
Cameron Smith 1 major/6 PGA Tour wins7.
Max Homa 0 majors/6 PGA Tour wins8.
Matt Fitzpatrick 1 major/2 PGA Tour wins9.
Jordan Spieth 3 majors/13 PGA Tour wins10.
Will Zalatoris 0 majors/1 PGA Tour win11.
Viktor Hovland 0 majors/3 PGA Tour wins12.
Sam Burns 0 majors/5 PGA Tour wins13.
Collin Morikawa 2 majors/5 PGA Tour wins14.
Justin Thomas 2 majors/15 PGA Tour wins15.
The takeaway here: the post-Tiger generation has produced intense parity.
Rory McIlroy had his run.
So did Jordan Spieth.
Collin Morikawa was The One for a bit there.
Rahm seems like he’s on his run right now, though Scottie’s right there, too.
Then there’s Justin Thomas, who continues to pick off a win here and a win there.
It’s parity, but it’s also greatness.
Where on earth is Jay Monahan?
Rory McIlroy’s withdrawal from this week’s RBC Heritage felt like a bit of a Moment.
We don’t think that’s happening.
But we don’t know.
That’s because Jay Monahan seems rather hesitant to speak in public.
And the players are beginning to notice his absence from the public eye.
He seems to only take the microphone when he has a script full of bullet-points in front of him.
I imagined he’d communicate (the McIlroy decision) to the membership, Schauffele toldSI.com’s Alex Miceli.
It’s a lot of money.
It’s a big deal.
A lot of people want to know what’s going on.”
I think that includes you (the media) as well.
And ultimately, the more transparency and the more everyone’s on the same page, the better.
Reading between the lines, the players are sick of Monahan’s silence.
It’s in hard times that true leaders emerge to answer tough questions.
Monahan, in this department, has dropped the ball.
You have the up-and-comers, the guys 26ish and younger whose careers are on a firmly upward trajectory.
It’s only a matter of time until they get their PGA Tour cards.
The picture’s kind of iconic.
“It’s the only thing I’ve ever done,” Levin said after the round.
“I know somewhere in me, I can still play like we talked about earlier.
So I just figured something good was gonna happen, and thankfully today did.”
Though, it should be noted, he has quite smoking.
He then hung around to provide some excellent commentary for the CBS broadcast booth.
In related news, Rahm’s stock is at an all-time high.
He’s quickly emerging as a public consensus fan favorite in that Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy tier.
It came on the second playoff hole, the par-3 17th, and the two were debating club selection.
Right before addressing the ball, he asked Greller if he thought the wind would impact its flight.
“Yep, the flag’s moving.”
An awkward pause, before Spieth weighed in: “I mean, it’s not.
That’s why I’m asking you.”
Another week, another round of slow-play ruminations.
He’s far from the only slow one.
“I wasn’t decided until the end…”
No!
No, no, no.
You needed to make that decision within the 45 seconds you are allotted to hit a shot.
It’s with the tour for letting guys play however slowly they want.
Until next week,
Dan
