Ryder Cup prep; Jeeno’s meltdown; and the Shark’s legacy after LIV Golf
Each week, we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.
Last week, almost all of the players on both Ryder Cup teams got some tournament prep in. Ten of the 12 American players teed it up in the Procore Championship, while 11 of 12 European players got their reps in at the BMW Championship. While they didn’t play matches and didn’t play together and didn’t play Bethpage Black, both coaches billed their participation as a great team building exercise. Is that just hype or does player bonding make a difference? And did either team gain any advantage?
Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): By my count, 5 of the 12 US team players finished in the top 20 at Procore (and, interestingly, so did two of the team coaches), so I guess you could say that was a good warmup. Five others made the cut. (Only Schauffele and DeChambeau missed it; DeChambeau for obvious reasons.). On the Euro side, 6 finished in the top 20, 3 others made the cut, 2 didn’t, and 1 player (Straka) took the weekend off. I have no idea how much they all bonded, and whether playing these events had any effect on their “readiness”… the event isn’t happening till next Wednesday, after all. Did anyone gain an advantage? Doubtful.
Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): I think it absolutely makes a difference leading into the event to get together well in advance. Just to start the chatter and bonding amongst teammates in person. And to also start bouncing the idea of potential pairings for the fourball and foursome formats of the matches with each player, look for a little feedback).
Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: The TOUR has come full circle. In the early days, players shared ‘rides’, travelled with families in a caravan with wives helping each other with babysitting, laundry and chores. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, travel was more independent, with several players owning their own jets and tournaments organizing mass travel. Then, in the 2000s, young players joined the TOUR from college, where many knew each other, and once again began travelling in groups with their families. The Europeans have always travelled together, sharing transportation and accommodation. Getting together can’t hurt, but the US players have grown up with privilege and as individuals. Nothing can change that.
TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): If Marco Simone gives us any indication, where the Euros played events leading up to the Ryder Cup and the US team didn’t, I think playing the event together is important, so it was good to see the American’s tip it up. They still will never have the same team unity that the Euros always display but I guess Keegan is hoping them playing will help. Not sure that one tournament makes or breaks players confidence leading into an event like the Ryder Cup, but Ben Griffin’s missed putt on the 72nd hole can’t help his mental game much. For the players, it was all about getting competitive reps in, I don’t think either team gained an advantage.
Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: Clever, those “non-Americans” or “Internationals,” to pair Ryder Cuppers at the BMW. Good on ‘em. Sure, it helps to get the lads together before the Cup. It is such a switch to go from Me to Team that any transition time must help. Rory alluded to together down time after the tourney, and one suspects there might have been a few collegial evenings involved. Don’t know if Scheffler winning again is team building. One can only hope not.
Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): It sounds like a load of hooey, but these guys play the entire season as individuals, so maybe a little group sing-around-the-campfire can build some team chemistry. In 2023, most of the American team arrived in Rome, not having played in five weeks, so their experience in Napa is definitely a plus. And not that Scheffler needed another win, but that can’t hurt heading to Bethpage either.
The LPGA continues to be the most democratic of tours with no repeat winners in all of 2025. World #1 Jeeno Thitikul looked poised for her second win of the season, before a shocking 4-putt on the 72nd hole handed the victory to Charley Hull. Inexplicable for a top ranked player. What’s the worst putting display on the final hole to turn victory into a crushing defeat you recall?
Deeks: Most recently, Tommy Fleetwood’s three-jack that handed Keegan Bradley an undeserved victory. Bernhard Langer’s missed 6-footer at the Kiawah Ryder Cup (which would’ve tied the match). Doug Sanders’ missed 2-footer at the 1970 Open Championship. So many others… many of them personal!
Loughry: Scott Hoch’s 2-foot miss to win was pretty bad at the Masters. But I’d put Dustin Johnson’s 3 putt at Chambers Bay from about 12 feet in the US Open (to lose) was pretty memorable too. Those two misfires on the last hole are the only two that stick out for me.
Schurman: It’s either Scott Hoch at the Masters, Doug Sanders at The Open or Jacklin in The Open. On the LPGA TOUR, I.K. Kim was a horrible disaster at Nabisco.
Rule: The obvious first one that comes to mind is DJ at the US Open at Chambers Bay, where he had a 12-footer to win, but three putted to not even make the playoff and hand the title to Jordan Spieth. Scott (C)Hoch at the Masters is also one that is played over and over so often it’s hard to forget it.
Quinn: Hoch as in Choke. Felt bad after Scott Hoch horribly missed that 2-footer on the playoff hole at the 1989 Masters (knocking it 3 1/2 feet past and letting Faldo win on the next hole). Then came the poll that he was the least popular guy on Tour, on a vote by his Tour-mates. Then a pal and a few titans of industry paid about $2,000 each to play in a Tour pro-am. They drew Hoch, who told them on the first tee that this was a practice round for him, he’d talk to them at the 19th. During the silent round, one of the ams got a hole-in-one. Hoch spoke for the first time: “Nice shot.” The acer replied: “F#$k Off Asshole!” Now that missed two-footer is one of my favourites.
Mumford: Jeeno’s agonizing four-putt on Sunday was awful to watch but in the arc of history it will fade mostly because it wasn’t at a major. Hoch, Sanders and IK Kim all missed short putts to win but DJ’s amateurish three-putt at Chambers Bay is probably the worst I ever saw.
Greg Norman announced that he’s officially retired from LIV Golf after four years during which he established and nurtured the upstart league as Commissioner and CEO. Norman already has Hall of Fame credentials as both a player and course designer, not to mention an impressive array of business interests. How does his LIV legacy stack up against his other accomplishments?
Deeks: There’s no doubt that Greg Norman had a brilliant — if very unlucky — career on the golf course and has had phenomenal success in building a business empire. And if those achievements are enough to make him feel great, and vindicated, then good on ya, mate. But along the way, Greg’s cocky attitude and ostentatious displays of wealth endeared him to very few people among his peers, and among those who manage the sport. His snarky and irreverent championing of LIV made him Persona Non Grata with just about everyone (except the megamillionaires he stole from the Tour) and certainly tarnished his overall reputation in Golf History. Does he care? Good question.
Loughry: Norman will get a lot of hate for bringing LIV Golf to the global golf scene. Whether you like him or not, he had a major impact on the PGA Tour, and all current players on both Tours (LIV and PGA Tour). Absolutely disruptive. I think most will remember him (like me) as a player, not for his business (wine, etc.), his course designs, or for LIV.
Schurman: It depends on whether you believe in free enterprise or not. Norman has been disgruntled with the USPGA TOUR for years. He voiced his opinion and took action, something I have done myself. I had two instances where groups had control of situations that were unfair, self-indulgent and petty. I enlisted the help of several like-minded people, and we created our own enterprise. In both cases, they shouldn’t have been so arrogant. I’m a Norman fan, and I applaud free thinking and initiative. The PGA TOUR had over 50 years to be creative, and they still are behind the “8 ball”.
Rule: Given the number of people in the industry that he alienated when he started LIV, I’m not sure this legacy will hold a candle to his great achievements on the golf course, and even his mediocre accomplishments as a course designer. He’s obviously been a very successful businessman over the years since his playing days, but his LIV legacy won’t be the one he’s remembered most fondly for by the masses.
Quinn: He did have the first idea about a world tour; it was just ahead of the times and the Tour’s agenda. Have played a number of his designs — he actually gets in the dirt on site, unlike many ‘name’ designers we could name — and every course was really solid. In his prime he was one of the best drivers of the ball ever — only John Daly was longer, barely, but Norman was in the fairway — and he got eyes on Tour TV in that era like no one not named Eldrick. Had a few pints with him and enjoyed his take on the planet until the Saudi syndrome. His legacy has of course been diminished, rendering his accomplishments on the course — and off it with a very successful course design biz and clothing lines etc. — forgotten by the general public. Hopefully he’ll still be revered in Australia for how good he was in many ways.
Mumford: For some, LIV Golf will always be a black mark on Norman’s reputation and he won’t be forgiven for his audacity and disloyalty in going against the PGA Tour. For others, he was a visionary and disruptor whose efforts helped change the PGA Tour forever and ushered in the big money era. Whether LIV Golf survives or not, merges with the Tour or stays independent, Norman’s stewardship in its formative years was critical. Very few could have or would have done what he did and suffered the outrage and personal criticism. He certainly didn’t need the money, although presumably the Saudis rewarded him royally. The LIV story is still evolving and there are a lot of ifs, but in time if it survives, I suspect it will go down as one of Norman’s major contributions to professional golf, particularly outside the U.S.
