Monday, June 10th, 2024 Edition

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Scottie Scheffler gets 5th 2024 win, 1st as a father, at the Memorial

– by Jack Hirsh / GOLF

Per Jack: “When Scottie Scheffler arrived at the 72nd green at the Memorial Tournament Sunday, he didn’t just have the game’s most prolific major champion watching him. He also had his wife and son, watching him finish up a victory together for the first time…”

B&B POV: Nothing stood in the way of Scheff winning the Memorial this weekend. Not the unwavering cry of a newborn. Not his crazy feet slipping all over the pace. Not even the unfathomable memories from Friday morning of the PGA. Which are impossible to put behind him (all of us) thanks to the videos that keep surfacing – “Is Tiger as good as they say he is?”

With the Memorial Big-A Trophy in hand, he’s now won five of the 13 PGA events he’s teed it up in this season, finished top 10 in 12 of 13, and banked $24,024,553. At this pace, he’s going to push Messi and Mahomes for top professional athlete earner of 2024.

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Why Jack Nicklaus believes Rory McIlroy hasn’t won a major in almost 10 years

– by Nick Piastowski / GOLF

Per Nick: “Jack Nicklaus says he’s a Rory McIlroy fan. He says McIlroy’s a good guy. He says he’s a wonderful player. And he has a thought as to why McIlroy hasn’t won a major championship in almost 10 years…”

B&B POV: Nicklaus didn’t mince words this weekend when interviewed during the Memorial broadcast. He was asked why Rory hasn’t won a major since 2014, when he was only 25 and already had four major trophies in his show-off room. Nicklaus talked about Rory’s inability to focus for a full round. And how he’s not unbeatable anymore when playing his best. His peers have caught up; one in particular has likely passed him up.

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WITB Winner’s Bag: Ernie Els, 2024 American Family Insurance Championship

– Thomas Hamden / Balls & Bogeys

Per Thomas: The Big Easy clipped Steve Stricker in a playoff yesterday to win the PGA TOUR Champions American Family Insurance Championship, his second victory on tour in a row. In 10 tourneys this season he’s only shot over par in two rounds and currently sits 3rd on the money list with $1,145,017 earned.

His entire career he’s had one of the most naturally strong and free-flowing swings in golf. Even though he’s known as a ball-striking maestro, throughout this season, the #1 strength in his bag is his putting. Look out old guard, Ernie’s on a heater and his yellow ball is on fire!

Let’s take a look into his bag set up. Els has been a loyal XXIO/Srixon/Cleveland (all owned by Dunlop) player since he first joined the Champions Tour five seasons ago…

Ernie El’s Golf Gear:

DRIVER: XXIO 13 Driver, 8.7 degrees

FAIRWAY WOOD: XXIO X 3-wood, 14 degrees, EvenFlow Blue 6.5 85x shaft

IRONS: 2-5 – Srixon ZX Mk II utility irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft | 6-9 – Srixon ZX7 Mk II irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft

WEDGES: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack wedges 52MB, 56MB, 60LB with KBS S taper 130X

PUTTER: Bloodline Golf

BALLS: Srixon Z Star XV (yellow)

Check out our Best Golf Drivers 2024 edition.

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FEATURED GOLF DEAL OF THE WEEK

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GIVE DAD A GIFT THAT GIVES BACK

PAYDAY! 2024 Memorial Tournament Prize Money Payouts

– by Thomas Hamden / Balls & Bogeys

Per Thomas: With the $4M he took home Sunday with his victory in Jack’s tourney, Scheff reset the record for most official money banked in a PGA TOUR season – the same record he set in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. He now sits at $24M for the year and will likely play in 5-6 more tournaments this season. Cha-ching.

Colin Morikawa is quietly having a nice year, even though he hasn’t won yet. The $2.2M he pocketed yesterday took his earnings this season to $6.8M. He’s 4th in FedExCup points and ranked #7 in the world. He’s going to win this season. It’s only a matter of time. This week’s US Open?

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Tour Confidential: Scheffler’s dominance continues, U.S. Open preview

– GOLF Editors

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss any potential hesitations (or lack thereof) for picking Scottie Scheffler at Pinehurst and preview this week’s U.S. Open.

B&B POV:

Will Scheff win the US Open at Pinehurst this week? He wins if the green complexes are fair. If the USGA in an attempt to keep the winning score at par or worse sets the pins in maddening spots for four days, then the tourney will be won by the luckiest player in the field, not necessarily the best player, who is Scheff by a mile.

How is Pinehurst different than recent US Open tracks? Their greens. They’re small. Rock hard. Undulating. Difficult runoffs and surrounds. Pinehurst is a short game wizard’s course. Calling all wizards!

How will Tiger fare at Pinehurst this week? We are going with a Top-30 finish, which means he’ll make the cut and play 72 holes. And if he does play all four days, we’ll likely watch him play most of them.

Bryson’s chances at Pinehurst? If he’s having fun and posting a ton of silly social media videos, he’ll be in the mix come Sunday. If his socials stay silent, we’ll know that angry Bryson has come out to huff and puff.

Top storyline this week? Tie: Scheffler and Tiger. Can the one guy keep up his torrid pace? Can the other finish all 72 holes? One of these two stories will prove true.

Most annoying golf habit? Outside of just not playing enough golf, we are going with slow play. Golf courses and golf tourneys have enough operational experience to move people through an 18-hole course in 4 ½ hours. Any longer is ridiculous and refunds should be handed out.

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