⛳️ Pro Golf Is A Mess

Plus: a poll for golf fans.

Good Morning. Welcome to Shanks. Thank you to today’s sponsor TheGrint, who makes the best damn GPS App in the game. Oh, and if you don’t mind filling out a one question poll below, we’d love to know how you feel about LIV vs. PGA.

Golf Dad Joke: The last putt always goes in.

Here's what we've got for ya today:

  • Quick Update: Grant Thornton Invitational

  • Sad But True

  • Shots Heard Round The World

  • Pro Golf Is A Mess

  • Thing We’d Buy If We Weren’t Broke

Quick Update: Grant Thornton

Team Finelly Leads

They were favorites in this event for a reason, and team Finelly (Finau+Nelly) is off to a one stroke lead after the first round of the Grant Thornton Invitational.

Leona Maguire and Lucas Glover are the odd couple out there, they both had to google each other before meeting, but the team chemistry looks great as they sit T2.

There’s a four-way tie for fourth place which includes BOTH of our picks for the weekend, should make for a fun finish.

Leaderboard

  • 1. Korda / Finau: -16

  • T2. Maguire / Glover: -15

  • T2. Khang /McCarthy: -15

  • T4. Zhang / Theegala: -14

  • T4. Yin / Taylor: -14

  • T4. Ko / Day: -14

  • T4. Hull / Rose: -14

  • T8. Corpuz / Champ: -13

  • T8. Henderson / Conners: -13

  • T10. Sagstrom / Åberg: -12

  • T10. Thompson / Fowler: -12

  • 12. Vu / Dahmen: -11

  • 13. Boutier / English: -9

  • T14. Reid / Henley: -8

  • T14. Lee / Horschel: -8

  • 16. Knight / Hoge: -6

Tee Times

  • 11:10 a.m. - Lee/Horschel and Knight/Hoge

  • 11:22 a.m. - Boutier/English and Reid/Henley

  • 11:34 a.m. - Thompson/Fowler and Vu/Dahmen

  • 11:46 a.m. - Henderson/Conners and Sagstrom/Aberg

  • 11:58 a.m. - Hull/Rose and Corpuz/Champ

  • 12:10 p.m. - Yin/Taylor and Ko/Day

  • 12:22 p.m. - Khang/McCarthy and Zhang/Theegala

  • 12:34 p.m. - Korda/Finau and Maguire/Glover

Shanks Picks

If you like either of the teams from Wednesday (Zhang/Theegala or Hull/Rose) they are both still +900 on BetMGM and just two shots off the lead.

Here’s how to get up to $1500 back in bonus bets from BetMGM:

  1. Sign up here.

  2. Place your bet

  3. Get up to $1500 back in bonus bets

Yes, this works for other sports too.

If you’re in a state with Sleeper and not BetMgm - they have just announced a $500 deposit match. Sign up here for Sleeper.

Improve Your Game with TheGrint

Free GPS maps for more than 40k courses worldwide. Know your distances to the pin, hazards, and landing zones. Green maps for more than 13k courses help you plan smarter approach shots and read greens - available on phone and smartwatch. 

Learn from your data and improve your game with stats and benchmarks.

Download TheGrint for free on iOS or Android.

If its not on TheGrint, did it really happen?

Sad But True

Shots Heard Round The World

Pro Golf Is A Mess

This week may have been one of the most buzzworthy weeks in the history of pro golf. There’s a lot of noise, a ton of drama, even more division and even less clarity on the future than before.

For fans, that means there’s a lot to sift through as we try to make sense of what the future of golf looks like.

Here are the best reads so far:

  1. Jon Rahm, The Rollback, and An Entire Reevaluation. Kevin Van Valkenberg from No Laying Up writes about how the average golf fan has been the biggest loser in the fiasco that is professional golf.

  2. Lynch: Jon Rahm’s greed isn’t the PGA Tour’s biggest problem. It’s the guys who want Saudi-sized money for staying.

  3. Sports Illustrated reports that “Jon Rahm is gone, Cantlay in control”.

  4. ESPN Posts article with Jordan Spieth, which refutes the Sports Illustrated report about Cantlay being in charge.

Caddyshanks is by no means the authority on golf, but based off of the comments we’re getting on Instagram and the sentiment we are seeing across social media as a whole, golf fans are totally disillusioned by what’s going on.

We don’t care how much the top ten players make, we just want to see best compete against best, without geopolitics mixed in there.

All of this stuff has only served to divide and hurt the professional game just at the same time that there are record levels of interest.

Do you currently watch LIV golf?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Golf Thing We'd Buy If We Weren't Broke

What a little bit of Rickie Fowler in your golf game without ALL the orange? Here’s your chance, with the SLIPSTREAM G RF Spikeless Golf Shoes. This shoe was originally designed for basketball in the 80s, but was introduced as a golf shoe in June of this year. So yeah, it’s a Rickie Fowler shoe, can’t you tell by the thin single orange stripe on the side?

Topside, this shoe has soft suede, and features a translucent blue carbon rubber outsole underneath. A PROFOAM midsole provides support, and a unique spikeless traction pattern with 60 different touch points ensures reliable footing. 

That’s all folks! See you Monday.