Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Padraig Harrington’s impact on golf, Nelly Korda’s Evian chances and Jordan Spieth’s Birkdale return
Padraig Harrington defended his U.S. Senior Open title to win his fourth senior major (to go along with his three others) on Sunday in Ohio. Earlier in the week he also spoke about “busy” pro golfers and the reality check he thinks they need. Does the 54-year-old Hall-of-Famer get enough credit for not only what he’s accomplished in golf but also his stewardship of the sport along the way?
Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): Probably not, but we often only appreciate things long after they are in the rear-view mirror. He has not only been a great steward of the game, but his longevity and ability to win on the Champions Tour and to hang around at majors, as he did at Aronimink this year, are impressive. Won’t be surprised if he’s sniffing around entering the weekend at Birkdale, either.
Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): No, he hasn’t. Between what he does with YouTube instruction and the openness he offers in media settings, there may not be a better pro today in … growing the game. (Yeah, yeah, I know.) If you’re to build interest in what you do, you need to let people in, and Paddy’s given everyone a key. He’s as good at his off-the-course game as he is at his on-course game, and he’s pretty damn good at the latter.
Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): He’s had such an interesting career. He’s known for his three major titles he piled up in the blink of an eye, but there’s also this other side of him that most people know as the guy who is always tinkering with bizarre training aids on the range. Paddy’s most recent senior major win comes at an interesting time, too — right when a couple of guys around his age (Tiger and Phil) are drifting away from the sport, at least for now. Harrington is still in the thick of it; kinda like what we thought those guys would be doing too. It’s nice to see Paddy still having success, though, and having the awareness to talk about what a privilege it is to still play pro golf.
Jordan Spieth opened up on sports gambling and its influence on the game (and potentially Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open) while at the John Deere Classic, although some on social media were quick to point out Spieth’s own role as a brand ambassador for FanDuel. The PGA Tour has also embraced gambling partnerships over the years. “You could impact a shot if you wanted to,” Spieth said. “I don’t know of another sport that you could impact as a fan like you can golf.” While it’s hard to argue with Spieth’s logic, is there a solution to this going forward? Does there need to be?
Schrock: There’s no solution. The genie is out of the bottle, and it’s nearly impossible to put it back in, short of reverting to a universal ban on sports gambling. The PGA Tour is putting protocols in place to protect players from gambling-related harassment, as our Sean Zak detailed a few months back. The PGA Tour has embraced gambling because it can lead to more eyeballs, which every sport is chasing. But this is the byproduct of that chase. I will argue that I don’t think gambling was the main reason the crowd at Shinnecock was hard on Clark. That might have been a side part, but there were bigger things at play.
Piastowski: Hmm. First, I think gambling is only part of the problem here. It’s like blaming a football loss solely on the quarterback when several mistakes lead to defeats. Is gambling to blame? A bit. Is alcohol to blame? A bit. Are phones to blame? A bit. Is social media to blame? A bit. Are new, non-golf fans to blame? A bit. Is the loss of shame to blame (a point my colleague James Colgan eloquently wrote about here)? A bit. Whew. OK, let’s answer the question now. My idea would be to block bets on golf tournaments in the state in which they’re played that week.
Berhow: That’s an interesting idea, Nick. Although I’m not sure there is much of a solution here. When the broadcasts are putting odds on the screens and the Tour is listing odds next to players’ names on their website, you are already in too deep. The real solution to improved fan behavior is just hoping golf fans are decent people when attending tournaments, but for a small population of the public, that’s unfortunately too much to ask.
Speaking of Spieth, he’s skipping this week’s Genesis Scottish Open and heading to the Open Championship and Royal Birkdale — home of his last major victory, in 2017 — a few days early. Will the good vibes of that Claret Jug and the success on that golf course change his season around come Open week? Do you like his chances at the final major of the year?
Schrock: When I spoke with Spieth at the PGA, he said it was best he felt entering a major since his 2017 win and that it was, he said, the best chance he felt he had to win a major since he left Birkdale. How much stock to put in that? I don’t know. His game has been consistently volatile; he’s tinkering with new putters and it just doesn’t seem to be there. But perhaps good memories can spark something. I’m not optimistic, though.
Piastowski: You know, I think he’s building toward something. He sounds confident. Said Spieth before this week’s John Deere: “I mean that statistically I feel like I could lead every category on a given week, and I have this year. It means that each part of my game can be at the highest level. I just haven’t put it together and put it together consistently enough yet. But my mechanics are mainly what’s significantly better. Then build-up of confidence, trusting in my wrist, simple things. That wasn’t always something that was an issue, but when it was, it was.” We like that. But Birkdale isn’t a pitch-and-putt. A big win is coming for Spieth, but maybe not in two weeks.
Berhow: The funny thing about Birkdale is that Spieth’s Sunday victory over Matt Kuchar was the most Spieth-like day ever. The ups, the downs, the ball on the driving range, the go-get-that putt. (It’s still, to this day, my favorite major I’ve ever covered in person.) The weird thing about Jordan is that you kinda throw out the stats with him. Some weeks he’s simply just better at getting the ball in the hole than others, which honestly might be one of the dumbest sentences I have ever typed, but I think most people who have watched enough Jordan Spieth golf understand what I’m getting at. When he’s on, there’s a little magic in him. I don’t think he will win at Birkdale, but I do love the storyline and hope he plays well and contends. If there’s a place (not named Augusta) for him to win his next major title, this is as good a bet as any. His game travels well for Open Championships.
Nelly Korda’s next chance at the Hall of Fame (and career Grand Slam) gets underway this week at the Evian Championship in France. Does she get it done?
Schrock: She’ll contend, but I don’t think she wins this week. I think she saves her third major win for the AIG Women’s Open in a few weeks. I’m going to go with Lottie Woad, who contended at last year’s Evian, getting it done for her first major.
Piastowski: Three major wins in a year are a lot to ask. The Hall will come, but probably not this week.
Berhow: I think she will have to wait another week. The putter was a little too cold at the KPMG Women’s PGA, and she hasn’t finished in the top 20 at Evian over the last two years (and never better than T8). Regardless, she won’t have to wait long for the Hall, whenever that day comes.
Happy Fourth of July weekend! Our Josh Sens recently wrote about America’s most exclusive (and secretive) golf club, which got us thinking: what’s the best under-the-radar course you have played this year?
Schrock: I admittedly haven’t gotten out as much as I would’ve liked so far this year. But I did play Quail Run Golf Course outside of Bend, Oregon, earlier this year. It’s a fun track that is a brute if you play it from the tips in the wind, as we unfortunately chose to do.
Piastowski: Man, the question maker of Tour Confidential must think we play golf all the time. I’ll go with the course that I’m going to play in a month — Lawsonia in Green Lake, Wis. We’ve gone there annually, and there’s a reason why.
Berhow: Careful what you say about the question-maker. This year? Nothing comes to mind. Next week? A bunch of courses in Brainerd, Minn., one of the most underrated golf destinations in the States. (And when you aren’t playing golf, you get to hang out on boats. It’s paradise.)