Where DJ Went After The 2015 U.S. Open

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That 18th hole three-putt ultimately changed Dustin Johnson's career for the better, leading him to vindication at Oakmont in 2016 and earning him Golf's player of the year and an Alan Shipnuck profile.

There is a lot to take in--if you can pop some dramamine to deal with the jittery webpage--including where Johnson disappeared to instead of attending the trophy ceremony. He had to pack the family car for Gozzer!

That night, the family retreated to a rental home to gather their belongings; they'd be flying to Gozzer for a previously scheduled trip. Johnson insisted on carrying out all of their suitcases and loading them into SUVs. When Wayne expressed concern about Johnson's back, the golfer shot back, "After the way I played today, this is what I deserve."

The next morning, at 7 a.m., Wayne teed off at Gozzer with his cronies, a sprawling group that includes Mike Mattivi, a 16-handicapper who is also a part of the regular games at Sherwood. Johnson said he would join them on the first tee, but no one was surprised when he didn't show. They were in the second fairway when a ball whistled over their heads. "We all knew it was Dustin," Mattivi says. "He comes roaring up and says, "I told y'all to wait for me!" After what he had just been through at Chambers Bay, I was shocked. Most guys would spend a week in bed, hugging their pillow, but this kid loves the game so much he didn't want to miss out on the fun."

The second hole at Gozzer Ranch is a 589-yard par 5; Johnson smashed an 8-iron to four feet for an eagle try. "He's standing there waiting for us to give it to him," Mattivi says. "And one of our buddies goes, "Dustin, that would normally be good, but since you missed one about that length 12 hours ago, you're gonna have to putt it." Dustin laughed so damn hard. He knows we love him no matter how many 4-footers he might miss."

Bryson's New Stroke Day One: It's Hypnotic...

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Lexi is playing against the guys, tourney host Greg Norman should be making visit to his old Fox Sports team Saturday, and yet Bryson DeChambeau going side-saddle-face-on-Kuchar is simply hypnotic. And slightly uncomfortable to watch, until one goes in.

Sure, it's the Franklin Templeton Shootout at some silly-Greg-Norman-designed-Florida-course-with-huge-streaming-fountains, but come on, this is wild: 

The Story Behind Bryson's Side Saddle Move

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Adam Schupak at PGATour.com has all of the thinking and specs behind Bryson DeChambeau's eye-opening putting switch.

Besides clarifying that he doesn't like the name side-saddle or "face-on" DeChambeau is very open about his putting struggles and the motive behind the switch.

DeChambeau practiced with it for at least 7 hours a day for the past two weeks. When he describes the benefits of looking at the hole with both eyes and swinging his right arm in a pendulum motion, he makes it sound simple."It's more bio-mechanically efficient," he said. "I take it back with a certain amount of energy with a certain acceleration profile that lets it go a certain distance."

David Leadbetter Announces Split With Pupil Lydia Ko

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Teachers and pupils split all the time, though in golf it's a bit unusual to see the coach announce the parting of ways with an extensive statement.

Here is the statement "on behalf of" David Leadbetter regarding the end of his Lydia Ko partnership:

“These things happen in the world of coaching, whether it’s Jurgen Klinsmann with the US National Soccer Team or Novak Djokovic who just separated from his coach Boris Becker this week. This turnover is all part of the coaching business.

We as a team want to thank Lydia for the privilege of helping her develop her game over the past three years. During which time she has amassed close to $7.5 million in prize money, has won 12 LPGA titles including two Majors, twice won the CME Championship, youngest Rookie of the Year in 2014, youngest Rolex Player of the Year in 2015, won the silver medal at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio, and achieved a host of other records. At present Lydia is number one in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.  Our goal from our very first coaching session with Lydia in November of 2013 was to create a vision and blueprint for this extraordinary talent designed around improving her full swing shot-making abilities, power, and short game performance.  Lydia’s tournament results and statistics in each of the last three seasons clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of our plan.

Lydia is not only an exceptional player, but also an exceptional person. She is a perfect role model for any young golfer to follow on how to conduct oneself on the golf course, interact with the public, and give back to the game. Lydia has been an absolute pleasure to coach and she felt the staff at the Leadbetter Golf Academy Headquarters at Champions Gate has been like an extended family to her.

We, the Leadbetter Golf Academy team, have prided ourselves on working with great talent through the years. Our team, including Sean Hogan, Director of Instruction at The Leadbetter Academies, plus other members of Lydia’s support team who have helped guide her, will walk away knowing that we have helped a great talent reach the highest pinnacle. We are proud of the part we have played in supporting her success. She has created a record that will be incredibly hard to beat! We believe that her success reinforces our position as leaders in the development of champion golfers around the world.

We wish Lydia the very best for the future and know that, going forward, if she is able to withstand the many outside pressures associated with being number one in the world, and if her team keep their expectations realistic, then she can go on to even bigger and better things.”

Ok, we didn't need the hard sell!

Ko is developing quite the track record, having fired her first coach for Leadbetter just one week after signing with IMG. More recently, she fired another caddie and is believed to be leaving Callaway for PXG.

R.I.P. Peggy Kirk Bell

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Laura Douglass and David Sinclair of The Pilot pen a nice remembrance of a true golf pioneer, who passed away at 95 Wednesday night in Southern Pines.

Great lede:

Bing Crosby serenaded her in the Pine Needles bar. Perry Como played her course. Jimmy Carter stayed at the lodge during the National Governors’ Convention. Rudy Vallee was a guest and she played with Jackie Gleason, Michael Jordan and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

This characterization from Jim Dodson is superb:

Jim Dodson, editor of PineStraw Magazine and one of the foremost writers on golf in America, called Mrs. Bell the female Arnold Palmer for her impact both as a competitor and teacher. She was at the vanguard of women’s golf whose career predated the LPGA. Together with her husband Warren, the Bells bought the Donald Ross-designed Pine Needles Resort and Golf Course. Together they raised a family amid its lush-green grounds and comfortable familiar environs that today still draws thousands of golfers each year, including hundreds of women who regularly attend the “Golfaris” that Bell started and continued to participate in up until a couple years ago.

Andrew Barksdale in the Observer talks to her son Kirk also noted her role in Southern Pines' development as a golf community.

David McNeill, the 62-year-old mayor of Southern Pines where Mrs. Bell called home, said she was a resident celebrity who elevated the game of golf for many people.

"She would light up a room when she walked in," Mr. McNeill said, "and in short time would be seen giving a golf tip."

"She solidified Southern Pines as a golfing destination," Mr. McNeill said. "Golfers from around the world return each year to Pine Needles and Mid Pines, because Ms. Bell treated everyone like royalty and made golf fun."

Mr. McNeill said his town hosted the U.S. Women's Open three times in an 11-year span, thanks to Mrs. Bell's leadership.

The Golf Club Atlas reviews of Mid-Pines and Pine Needles serve as nice tributes to Mrs. Bell's lasting place in the game.

 

Peter Senior (57) Calls It A Career

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Not many 50-somethings have ever been able to remain relevant with the flatbellies, yet Peter Senior did so in spite of the game's power surge, even winning the 2015 Australian Masters at 56 (!).

Planning to call it a career at the Australian PGA Championship in a few weeks, Senior had to WD from the Australian Open he's won twice due to hip pain. Martin Blake reports on the ageless golfer finally experiencing father time catch up to a career that included 34 worldwide wins.

"It's a tough pill to swallow. The last two years, I've had that many injuries. I'm just sick of it. It's a game you can't play with injuries. I've had a great run, a great career. I've enjoyed every minute of it. People have been fantastic, you just can't play like that. I don't enjoy playing like this. I can't hit a shot. Every time I hit the ball I get a bolt of pain through my hip.''

Senior gave this interview after withdrawing from the Open.

9th In The World: Who Is Alex Noren?

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With the European Tour limping toward its Race To Dubai conclusion and featuring a Masters winner who "wants his life" back (according to Derek Lawrenson), attention will turn to Alex Noren.

Noren's won four times since July and has risen to 9th in the world after being outside the top 100 in June according to Will Gray, yet he never received any Ryder Cup consideration and would probably need ID to walk onto any major championship range. He's at least dropped to 80/1 in Masters futures odds, but is still behind Jon Rahm and Tiger Woods.

Finding a good profile on Noren was tough, but maybe because he's done it best on by his very ownself. Sure, his blog hasn't been updated since 2012, but Noren's website includes his first person life story if you click on "My Story" in the lower left.

I forgot that the 34-year-old--that's right millennials, you can like him!--went to Oklahoma State and unlike many Euros, stayed for four years. But with all of the talk about short courses, Himalayas greens and growing the game (including today on Morning Drive), this really stood out:

My fight to reach my dreams began 23 years earlier at my home course Haninge GK in Sweden.

The putting green served as a natural kinder garden and it was located in the middle of two straight lines of oak trees. The green was narrow and long and gave us enough creativity to try the craziest shots when having chipping contests. The bet was always ice cream to the winner. We played golf all day. Our parents had to bring food out on the course because dinner wasn't our first priority; lowering our handicap was. We usually played together; sometimes we let our parents join up if we weren't enough kids around. I think the opportunity to play around and not being instructed by anyone gave us the complete joy and love for the game. We could not get enough of it.

Eddie Pepperell Blogs On Losing His Card

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England's Eddie Pepperell last posted just prior to the Ryder Cup and in the meantime has continued to struggle with his game.

Pepperell took to his blog to share his emotions and excessive-obsession with swing mechanics. The 25-year-old ends the post with a positive outlook though, interspersed with some jokes. Mostly though, he's just a wonderful writer and it's a rare look into the tougher side of professional golf.

Unfortunately 2016 has been the year I came to the realisation I don’t love this game the way I used to. It’s like being married to someone you have such a deep, inextricable connection to. It beats you up, yet you still come back for more. Don’t get me wrong I love the challenge of getting better, and I really enjoy being in the hunt on Sunday. That makes me feel alive. But golf has shown me it’s darker, more insidious side this year. Of course the irony is you only ever witness this part when you, the individual, start spiralling out of control. I’d say I started wandering the corridors of discontent with my game sometime last year, and I thought I knew which door I needed to take to get out, but yet I could never open it. That hasn’t happened to me for a while. I went from being a talented 18 year old, to a good professional because I used my brain and figured out what my weaknesses were and how I would go about fixing them.

Ramifications Galore From Spieth's Plan To Remain Titleist-Loyal

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There were some intriguing remarks by Jordan Spieth to CNBC's Jessica Golden about his plans to remain loyal to his Titleist sticks. Three primary reasons: one, he's not helping his negotiating position going into a contract renewal. Two, he's exhibiting unusual loyalty and foresight compared to many of his peers who made costly switches And three, he doesn't sound like someone laying groundwork for Under Armour to join the golf equipment industry.

From the story:

When Nike announced it's getting out of the golf equipment business, Spieth said that caught many people off guard. "That was a bit of a shock when that came down," he said. However, Spieth said his PGA tour colleagues sponsored by Nike, most notably, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, enjoy the flexibility of playing with what they want. Spieth says they frequently talk shop to each other about the different equipment brands and clubs.

Despite that, Spieth has no plans to give up playing with his Titleist clubs. "I have played Titleist my whole life, so I just trust it," he said. Acushnet, which owns Titleist, had an IPO this month. Spieth said he didn't get any stock with the offering but he imagines he'll be a shareholder at some point.

"In golf trusting what you are wearing and playing with is first and foremost so you don't have to worry about anything but your game."

When Golf Pros Push Back: Steven Bowditch Edition

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Sean Zak at Golf.com backed up his case that Steven Bowditch made an extraordinarily large amount of money (Nearly $500k) given some historically poor play on the PGA Tour.

Nothing about the item was personal, but given the sensitive nature of pro golfers, who are coddled by the tour to believe they are doing the Lord's work, Zak received social slaps from giants in the game who apparently hold tour cards, notes Michael Shamburger at The Big Lead.

Steve Wheatcroft, Andres Gonzales, Colt Knost and Hudson Swafford all expressed their dismay, while an all-out blackout threat came from Graham DeLaet, who, while suffering through the yips this summer, blew off all writers at the Rio Games.

And I can tell you, none of us have been the same since.

Anyway, maybe Zak should have moved the dollar amount and easy-WGC money up higher in his item to not bury the lede exposing Tim Finchem's grand vision for rewarding something worse than mediocrity. Zak, because he's a nice fellow, actually portrayed it as good news in trying to find some silver lining in Bowditch's season:

Bowditch was 3.209 strokes worse than the field average in the 55 rounds he recorded last year. Robert Allenby finished 184th in strokes gained, albeit in 14 fewer rounds, but lost just 1.95 strokes per round. So the second-worst golfer, strokes gained-wise, was still a stroke better per round than Bowditch was. Just one player in the ShotLink era (David Gossett in ’04—sorry, David!) finished a season with a worse average. Those 3.209 strokes lost per round looks like this.

Alas, there was some good news among all the gloominess. Bowditch still managed to earn $458,891 last season, good for 158th on the money list -- a far cry from his 185th-best form.

Bowditch’s Tour wins in 2014 and '15 earned him spots in the no-cut WGCs that ensure a paycheck. Those three starts alone helped him rake in a cumulative $158,500, slightly more than 34% of his season earnings.

Bowditch took to Twitter to push back:


DeLaet's threat mentions something about a sit down, something (A) players rarely do anyway (B) no one but maybe some Canadian press, are dying to do with DeLaet: