A must-hear comeback story, and LIV Golf club anger

Welcome! Where are you, you ask. I’m calling this the Weekend 9. Think of it as a spot to warm you up for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We’ll have thoughts. We’ll have tips. We’ll have tweets. But just nine in all, though sometimes maybe more and sometimes maybe less. As for who I am? The paragraphs below tell some of the story. I can be reached at nick.piastowski@golf.com

Gabby Barker didn’t wake up. She still doesn’t know why. 

Her swing, though, is most always on time. It’s so dialed. Barker had been a top-ranked collegian while at Texas Tech. Soon after, she became the first female Native American pro, an accomplishment she speaks of with pride. And last December, she entered Ladies European Tour Q-School, in Morocco, where she planned to really shine. “I had been working my tail off to be able to perform well,” she said. 

Only her alarm didn’t go off. 

And she missed her tee time. 

And she was finished without ever beginning. 

And Tuesday, she told us all. 

“I had 12 hours of sleep. I don’t know if it was jet lag or what; just didn’t wake up. It was a whirlwind.

“I don’t think I’ve cried that much in my entire life for something like that because it was such a good opportunity to go out there and travel the world and experience it. 

“Sorry talking about it still hurts.”

Here, Barker’s voice cracks. She was talking this week ahead of the LPGA’s Ford Championship, where she’s playing on a sponsor exemption, and Barker’s reflected on what happened. She then continued. 

And if you’re looking for your comeback story of the week, and if you’re looking for some motivation heading into the weekend, well, here you go. 

“But now it’s like I don’t think I would be where I was without that,” Barker said. “Golf is hard in itself, but looking back, it’s like, OK, I know that I’ve overcome so much stuff, whether it’s life, golf, other challenges, and to know that I made it through all that is just like a pat on the back. It’s kind of crazy.

“So, yeah, I wouldn’t be there without it; I wouldn’t be here without it.”

Good stuff. Let’s see if we can find eight more items for the Weekend 9. 

One takeaway from the week / one takeaway for the weekend 

2. Was this year’s best round played Friday? 

The DLF Golf and Country Club, in New Delhi, India, after all, is — actually, pro Meghan MacLaren described it best. 

“DLF golf club is the ultimate sign that professional golfers are completely sick in the head,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s so difficult, it’s impossible to explain. Every single shot (and putt) has the smallest window to fit in of any golf course I’ve ever been to, and if you miss it… you’re literally on the edge of a razor blade the whole time.”

Difficult. Smallest windows. Edge of a razor blade. This week, as DLF G&CC hosts the DP World Tour’s Hero Indian Open, the scores are bearing that all out. Through 36 holes, four-under par leads. But six-over got you into the weekend. Scores in the 80s were common. 

And Keita Nakajima’s six-under 66 was not. 

And his seven-under 29 on the front nine was maybe as good as it gets. According to the DP World Tour, the scoring average was 37.83, meaning Nakajima was nearly nine shots better. 

Should you be curious how the final 36 holes play out, Golf Channel’s coverage starts at 4 a.m. ET on Saturday and 2:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. 

One more takeaway from the week / one more takeaway for the weekend 

3. Was this year’s best shot played Thursday?

The lie, after all, that Keith Mitchell faced on the 9th hole at Memorial Park during the Houston Open’s first round was — actually, you should have a watch, which you can do by clicking here or by scrolling immediately below. 

As the post’s caption says, the shot is called the “Thai Spinner,” thanks to its play from colorful Thailand pro Kiradech Aphibarnrat, and after his round on Friday, Mitchell described it. 

“So Kiradech kind of hits a shot where he takes a 60, stabs it and it kind of skips and then just has a ton of spin and stops. I was in the back of the bunker and I had the lip behind me so I couldn’t really get a straight up and down backswing enough to hit the ball high, land on the green and stop it. There was water on the other side, pretty much had everything going against me, and that was the only shot that I could think of was just kind of stab it, catch the ball first and try to scoot it up the slope and then make it spin when it got on top. I don’t know how I did it, but it was probably one of the best shots I’ve ever hit and came out exactly like I wanted it to and almost went in the hole.”

How would an 18-handicapper hit it?

“They might do it on accident more than they could do it on purpose,” Mitchell said. “Out of the bunker, everyone teaches you to hit the sand first and try to blast it and hit it up high in the air. I couldn’t do it in that situation, there was just no other option. There was the lip behind me, I had to fly it on top of the green, stop it or else it was going to go in the water. I just didn’t have that option, so that’s when I decided to hit ball first. And when you hit ball first, it comes out really low and hot with a lot of spin. It’s not something I’ve really ever practiced, but I’ve kind of just messed around with it for fun. Just had to do it there. It was the only option I had and pulled it off.”

What did the pros think of it?

“It was funny,” Mitchell said, “when I originally posted, the only people that commented or texted were other Tour players because they were like, what was that, because they knew exactly what it was and how difficult it was. And again, like it was a lot of it was luck, but it was the only shot I had. It was either in the water or back in the bunker, and was fortunate enough to pull it off. It’s — you know, we all know kind of the shots that each other hits, and those guys have hit shots that I would probably never be able to hit or wouldn’t have hit in the situation. It’s just kind of fun to kind of go back and forth with each other when you know somebody actually did pull it off.”

Best non-GOLF.com read for your weekend 

4. What am I reading (besides the thoughtful prose of my colleagues)? This article is worth your click. 

Here, Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols wrote of an LPGA administrative error that led to one player playing in three tournaments for which she was not qualified — and that three players then missed out on events. 

A golf story that may interest only me 

5. My golf-basketball bracket Sweet 16 is playing out this weekend. 

If you missed last week’s Weekend 9, I created a tournament of 64 men’s pros based on Data Golf’s March 21 rankings — and the pros would advance based on how their corresponding team in the men’s college basketball tournament played. At the least, I was curious, though as we move forward, the lack of upsets in the hoops championship is also affecting our golf event. 

Here’s who’s left: 

South round of 16 

1. Scottie Scheffler vs. 5. Keegan Bradley 

6. Sungjae Im vs. 2. Patrick Cantlay 

West round of 16 

1. Jon Rahm vs. 4. Shane Lowry 

3. Justin Thomas vs. 10. Ben Griffin

East round of 16 

1. Rory McIlroy vs. 4. Bryson DeChambeau 

6. Denny McCarthy vs. 2. Joaquin Niemann

Midwest round of 16 

1. Collin Morikawa vs. 4. Sepp Straka 

3. Hideki Matsuyama vs. 2. Russell Henley

Another golf story that may interest only me 

6. Last Sunday, after Billy Horschel hit a left-handed shot at the Valspar Championship, an interesting back and forth started after popular Golf Twitter user @Top100Rick shared video of the play and wrote: “If you are a 25 year old scratch player and I gave you unlimited time, the best teachers, the best equipment, best fitness coaches…The  odds of you getting a tour card are ZERO.”

The post has six-million views. Folks have weighed in. 

Including Horschel (who two days later became TGL MVP). He wrote this:

“Umm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Rick is probably right. Percentages are less than 1%. It’s one thing to get the technical part but then you need the mental which is probably the hardest and don’t forget course management and vital tournament experience….. which guys similar in age would have roughly a decade of experience playing highly competitive tournament level golf.”

One more golf story that may interest only me 

7. To Patton Kizzire’s punted putter, and Sahith Theegala’s club hurl, and Adam Hadwin’s sprinkler break, you can add this frustration release. It came from Sam Horsfield during LIV Golf’s Singapore event two weeks ago, and it was shared Wednesday by @LIVGolfBuff.

“I’m an 80-year-old dad, addicted to the crazy game of golf, married to an incredible wife of 56 years who has been, like your mom, a rock and anchor to our respective families.

“I’m planning on forwarding your non-golf thought to my 50-year-old son and 47-year-old daughter. They are both hard working, thoughtful, devoted parents to their children. Yet in our madcap, hurry-up world, sometimes a text or Facebook remark, or Instagram message isn’t what the human spirit needs. Fortunately, you’ve had that moment of truth and understanding of why moms, especially moms, are so valuable to a family’s whole being.

“I admit I, too, was guilty of not being ‘present’ to my parents and wish now I’d shared more time with them. I don’t want my son and daughter to have any guilt when we ‘fall off the perch,’ which is one reason I’m sending your article to them. …

“Best wishes and don’t carry too much guilt. Your mom would understand.”

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