Right in the Lumberyard: The Golf Thread

[Carey]

Ten years ago, McIlroy was the man.  Crushed it seemingly all the time.  Won The Open in 2014, then I believe won Bridgestone, and then the PGA the very next week.  Second PGA Championship in 3 years, second major win in a row, and second win in as many weeks.  It was a matter of when, and not if, he'd best the Bear.  Not the other guy.  After all, 4 major titles are impressive.

What's at least less than impressive?  Four major titles during the 10-year anniversary of when Rory dominated the sport.  That last win is next month, and too bad I'm not even at the weekend of the last chance before the guy has to wait until 2025 or never to win again.

At least the chance of Scottie giving away another FedEx cup and Rory taking another FedEx cup is on the table.  To be fair, though, so is Paris and the gold there

[Carey]

Probably the toughest Open to forecast following Lowry's tumble.  Pretty much the top 9 have a shot, but if anyone after that performs as well as Lawrence did, we should have a dark horse winner outright.  The weather on Sunday is not expected to be great for the latter group

[Carey]

I'll pump the brakes in terms of [Xander > Scottie] though the 2024 Champion Golfer of the Year having the same # of majors as the World No. One + an Olympic Gold medal leads to a conversation.  Albeit a very brief one!

[twoods]

Congrats to Xander again! So happy for him after waiting years for a major he’s won two this year. Can’t happen to a classier guy.

[Carey]

100% twoods.  Plus, his dad was in attendance this time!

Until proven otherwise, he's not going to pass Jack or Tiger.  However, if there's a case to be made for him to do so, it's the fact that both were around their mid-40s when they won their last major titles.  Xander has about 40-50 opportunities.  30% is a tough ask, but even with 3 dozen majors before the age that starts with a 4 hits, there are tons of chances to get to the totals that match guys like Faldo, Player, Lefty, Brooks, Watson, and Arnold Palmer.  Finally, he is a gold medalist in the sport.

With Schauffele winning on Sunday, the sport gets its first American sweep of the majors in 2 years and twice as many decades.  On a random but accurate note, McIlroy won both of the same events exactly a decade ago, which followed a guy that won his second Masters 2 years after his first, also occurring this year

[Carey]

Well, there goes the sorta made up Golf Triple Crown!

While I thought of someone winning each of the FedEx events within a calendar year in the past, I actually didn't think or expect Hideki to win the BMW.  Still a great event; while I'm not expecting Scottie to win the Tour Championship with ease, I didn't think I'd see the most recent Gold Medal winner struggle this week

[Carey]

Death, taxes, and going to the Fed Ex Champions Wikepedia Page where I'll see the name Scottie Scheffler there

[Carey]

Greg Norman Out As LIV Golf CEO