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- ⛳️ Did the PGA screw bettors?
⛳️ Did the PGA screw bettors?
Plus: The Golf Boom By The Numbers
Josey Orr, Chase Majerus & The Shanks Gator
January 15, 2024
Good Afternoon. Welcome to Shanks. If you were one of the unfortunate people who bet JT Poston +650 to finish Top-5, that means you likely got screwed by rules officials yesterday, who granted Carl Yuan free relief after he blasted his golf ball off the planet. If PGAT wants to embrace betting, they’ve got to be better than this.
Golf Trivia: Where did the term “Caddies” originate?
Here's what we've got for ya today:
Quick Recap: The Sony
The Golf Boom By The Numbers
Shots Heard Round The World
Early Lines: The American Express
Thing We’d Buy If We Weren’t Broke
Super Quick Recap: The Sony
Murray Rallies To Win Playoff
Grayson Murray snuck into a playoff with Keegan Bradley and Byeong Hun An on the 18th hole with a tight wedge shot followed by a 3 foot birdie putt.
In the playoff, all three players had birdie looks from different distances.
Murray had the longest look from 40 feet.
He drained it.
Keegan missed his 18 footer and An missed a heartbreaker from about 4 feet.
Last year Rory McIlroy told Greyson Murray to “play better” during a players meeting at the Canadian Open. Since then he’s been sober for 8 months, regained PGAT status via the KFT and last night he drained this bomb to win a playoff at the Sony. Class.
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf)
6:57 AM • Jan 15, 2024
Strange enough, this has to be the first time ever that two sober dudes have won in back to back weeks.
Both Chris Kirk and Grayson Murray have opened up about their recovery recently, hoping to inspire others.
The Yuan Situation
We aren’t going to spend too much time crying over spilled milk here, but its important to call this stuff out when you have professional sports leagues allowing people to gamble on their games.
“Virtual certainty” it went into the hospitality tent. But they never found the ball…🤔🤔🤔
— Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna)
12:03 AM • Jan 15, 2024
The official explanation states that it was “a virtual certainty” that the ball was in the area of the hospitality tents, despite the ball never being found. Basically they talked to the drunk people at the hospitality tent who said “yeah we saw it fly in here”.
NORMAL SPORT.
Shanks Picks Season Recap:
The card got wiped out on Sunday despite a promising three days.
Outright: 0-2
Top Five: 0-2
Top Ten: 1-1
Top Twenty: 0-2
Longshot: 0-2
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The Golf Boom By The Numbers
The Numbers
According to the National Golf Foundation, here are the numbers behind golfs recent growth in popularity.
The sport had a direct economic impact of $102 billion in the USA in 2022. A 20% increase from 2016.
The industry has seen 9 straight years with at least 2 million beginner golfers. The last three have seen over 3 million beginner golfers.
3.4 million golfers played Jr Golf. The highest level since 2006.
Female golfers have passed 6 million in the last three years, the highest level since 2007.
Golf has become one of the most popular recreational sports in America, with 25.7 million on-course golfers and 15.5 million off-course.
Shots Heard Round The World
Early Lines: The American Express
We will get our first look at Justin Thomas in 2024 this weekend, let’s see if he’s got his game back on track after an off-year.
Thing We'd Buy If We Weren't Broke
These aren’t exactly new, but they should be a staple in every single golfer’s shoe repertoire. While it does seem as though Nike golf has fallen off the high pedestal of our hearts recently (see Jason Day), there is no denying just how cool these shoes are.
“With Air cushioning underfoot, a Wings logo on the heel and an integrated traction pattern to help you power through your swing, it delivers all the clubhouse cool of the original AJ1.”
Tony Finau approved.
Trivia Answer: France. It originates from the french word “cadet” which means “boy, or the youngest in the family”. The theory is that French royalty would use military cadets to carry their clubs and the practice came back with Queen Mary Stuart to Scotland.
That’s all folks! See you Wednesday.