In short, then, I had fun at the game.
Nick Piastowski
Let’s see if we can find eight more items for the Weekend 9.
One takeaway from the week
2. Let’s stick with the Masters. I’ve been thinking this week about a short exchange I had with Justin Rose in his post-round press conference on Sunday.
On Sunday, I’d followed McIlroy for all 19 holes and talked with folks about why a McIlroy win would lead to the highest of highs among his faithful — and a loss would precipitate very much the opposite. Afterward, I was curious what Rose thought, asking: “I consider you a student of the game, a fan of the game. Why do you think a Rory win like this has created such a fervor among his fans? Why has this created such a high among them?”
In hindsight, I shouldn’t have asked. Rose was just minutes from his defeat in a playoff. He himself was gut-punched. Why should he care about McIlroy at this point, let alone his fans? It maybe would be a question for sometime in the future.
Rose still answered.
“I was curious how the day was going to be for Bryson [DeChambeau] and Rory given the U.S. Open and given the dynamics — obviously Bryson has a big following, I think bigger now than it’s ever been,” he started. “I obviously wasn’t privy to that in the group. I don’t know how that played out today.
“There’s a lot of support for me, too, out there. We saw part of history today. Someone won the career Grand Slam. It’s a momentous day in the game of golf. Quite rightly, fans are going to be excited about that. He’s captivating to watch. He’s a great player. He plays with so much sort of style and charisma and flair, I suppose, and you never quite know, as well, because he’s made a few mistakes under pressure. People, they want to kind of keep watching, keep guessing.
“But today, again, I mean, he kind of gave me an opportunity on 18, I think, from the fairway. That was nice of him. But again, kind of closed the door beautifully on 18 — two great swings when it mattered most for him. I think that’s what he’s really learned to do this year is play much more controlled golf, and obviously it’s paying off for him. He’s having an unbelievable season.”
Later, I saw a few X sites had picked up his response. It was well-viewed. It was likely well-received. Here’s saying it should be even more so considering the circumstances.
A heartwarming moment for your weekend
3. One of the touching moments from the Masters came when McIlroy spoke to his daughter, Poppy, during the green jacket ceremony, saying: “The one thing I would say to my daughter, Poppy, over there, ‘Never give up on your dreams. Never, ever give up on your dreams. Keep coming back, keep working hard, and if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. Love you.’” On Sky Sports, McIlroy went further, though, after reporter Anna Jackson asked him: “If she ever turns around to you and says, ‘Daddy, why was it such a big deal when you won the Masters?’, what do you think you would say?”
In response, McIlroy said this:
“I think it’s a story of perseverance. And I think that’s what I would tell her, that there was a lot of years that I came here and I wasn’t able to achieve what I wanted to achieve but I never let that discourage me or get me down. I kept coming back and I kept giving it another go. So I think that’s the story that I would tell her and why it meant so much to so many people.
“But she did come back — they have the daycare here and she came back with a T-shirt on Friday and on the back of that T-shirt was all the past champions of the Masters tournament and she asked me, ‘Daddy, why is your name not on the back of this T-shirt?’ So I said to her after I played today, I said, ‘Poppy, next year my name’s going to be on the T-shirt.’”
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A golf story that may interest only me
4. A month ago, former NFL star JJ Watt said he’d been invited to play Augusta National the day after the Masters, but he was concerned: While he shoots in the 95-to-105 range, he hadn’t played in a year. It made for an interesting scenario.
Here’s how he did:
Another golf story that may interest only me
5. We have a winner in my golf-basketball bracket.
If you missed it, 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. Here’s how the final three games/matches played out:
The Final Four saw Jon Rahm (Florida) beat Scottie Scheffler (Auburn), and Collin Morikawa (Houston) beat Rory McIlroy (Duke) — and Rahm won it all.
One shining moment, indeed.
One takeaway for the weekend
6. The R&A is cracking down on sandbagging. In a story written by Rob McGarr of National Club Golfer, the governing body sent emails to club managers and players reminding them of their responsibilities under the world handicap system.
“I wouldn’t want to suggest that we’re saying we think there are lots of people out there deliberately doing the wrong thing, but we recognize that even if a small number are doing this, then it can impact on the enjoyment of competition golf, and it negatively impacts on the opinion of WHS,” R&A Executive Director – Governance Grant Moir told McGarr.
“Sometimes people are unaware of what the responsibilities are, and we want to point those out. Once we’ve pointed them out, if you’re deliberately doing something that isn’t in accordance with the rules of handicapping, then it’s the same as doing something that is deliberately not in accordance with the rules of golf. We call that out as cheating in the rules of golf, and we’re prepared to call that out as cheating under the rules of handicapping as well.”
A golf / non-golf thought
11. There’ll be no Weekend 9 next week, but my excuse is good:
I’ll be watching Wisconsin high school golf.
My nephew, Mason, is a junior this year. He hits it a mile. He has a nice touch around the greens. His mood can go south occasionally, but I know where that comes from.
Speaking of, if he were to beat me when we play …
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