Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we never realized how much we’re addicted to Twitter until our account was hacked last week. It truly was Black Friday for me as I got locked out mid-Skins Game and was forced to go dark from the social-media account for the next few days. I developed a twitch wanting to touch that X app on my phone and I was repeatedly denied help from automated emails until finally getting access back on Cyber (Security?) Monday. It was very frustrating, and I felt lost not being able to check my favorite app for Lane Kiffin updates. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? Anyway, if you received any sketchy DMs from @AlexMyers3 in the meantime asking you to vote for me in some Spotify contest, I apologize. Hopefully, the hackers didn’t get you, too. OK, let’s talk some golf.
The Skins Game: It was great having this storied event back, especially on the morning after Thanksgiving. That’s when I always have to lug all the Christmas stuff—including our fake tree from Costco—down from the attic. So it was nice to have a little entertainment to help get me through it:
Maybe it’s all the money talk in golf the past few years, especially with the whole PGA Tour-LIV battle, but the cash up for grabs didn’t feel like a big deal to me watching or the guys playing. Am I crazy? I remember growing up thinking it was really cool so much cash is on the line, but that didn’t quite translate. Not sure how they fix that, but otherwise it was a fun broadcast, which our Shane Ryan did an even funner running diary of. And hopefully we’ll have the Skins Game back next holiday season if all golf fans ask Santa.
Keegan Bradley: The big winner of the big return of the Skins Game was the Ryder Cup captain. And it wasn’t particularly close. Sure, Tommy Fleetwood drained that final birdie putt to earn $1.1 million, but Bradley had long wrapped up the win, taking home $2.1 million in skins:
Of course, this doesn’t make up for what happened at Bethpage, but Keegan’s kids are going to have an extra-awesome Christmas.
David Puig: The up-and-comer earned his biggest pro title to date, becoming the only Spaniard besides Seve Ballesteros to win the Australian PGA Championship. “My name, being with Seve’s name as the only two … makes it even more special,” Puig said after.
Seve would be pleased to know that Puig has accepted membership on the DP World Tour for 2026 in addition to playing in LIV Golf. Considering the Arizona State product only turns 24 this week, we should probably expect him to achieve a few more Seve-related accomplishments in his future.
Xander’s Skins Game: At least his golf game at the Skins Game. Some people just aren’t cut out for the Silly Season. And that’s meant as a compliment. Schauffele also struggled during the inaugural season of TGL because this guy is a serious golfer. He’s a big-game hunter with two major titles to his credit. Heck, Tiger Woods won all four majors at least three times each, but he was 0-for-4 in his Skins Game career. So it’s not surprising that Schauffele got completely shut out in his first Skins Game. Creating an all-time funny photo:
That being said, he was easily the most entertaining of the four players so he was actually the event’s sneaky big winner as fans got to see the funny personality we see in PGA Tour media centers. Hopefully, he—and the Skins Game—will be back next year to avenge his (playing) performance. And we’re sure baby Victor will still have plenty of presents under the Schauffele Christmas tree … whether it’s real or a fake one from Costco.
Laurie Canter: I’m not here to criticize Canter for opting to return to LIV over taking the PGA Tour card that he just earned. I just wish he hadn’t for the content. People are waiting to see what happens when the first LIV player goes (back) to the PGA Tour and now Canter’s choice has delayed that even more.
Not that I think anything particularly juicy will happen, but it would have been fun to talk about. Of course, it will be a lot bigger deal if it’s one of LIV’s star players. For now we’ll just have to add that to our list for Santa.
The winter: Welp, it’s really here in the Northeast, folks. And it sucks. In fact, the forecasted Tuesday storm is the reason why I’m not in the office today:
I can’t be expected to make such a harrowing trek into NYC in those conditions. Even worse? Between the snow and the frigid conditions for at least the next 10 days, I’m starting to accept that I’ve played my final round of the year. Sigh. Time to hibernate for about four months.
We’re back to four-day tournaments this week. Lots of four-day tournaments, in fact. First, there’s the Hero World Challenge, AKA that December event in the Bahamas that Tiger hosts, but never plays in anymore. And the DP World Tour is so back that it’s running TWO tournaments, the Australian Open (at Royal Melbourne!) and the Nedbank Golf Challenge. So there will be plenty of golf to watch on Friday morning (and Thursday, Saturday and Sunday morning) again.
Random tournament fact: Scottie Scheffler has won the past two Hero World Challenges. By nine shots combined.
RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK
—Scottie Scheffler will win the Hero: 1.6-to-1 odds (LOL)
—Tiger Woods will do some booth commentary at the Hero: LOCK
—Tiger Woods will say the word “reps” while in the booth: LOCK
After going dark for a bit on social media as well following the Internet Invitational, Paige Spiranac finally addressed those “cheating” allegations by answering questions on video. And then made light of the situation with this post
Get it? (For those of you who don’t, Paige got called out for improving her partner’s lie in some fescue during the final round.) Well played, Paige.
Daniel Hillier joined a raucous crowd at the Australian PGA Championship in singing “Sweet Caroline”—and then rolled in a clutch par putt to stay one off the lead late in the third round:
What a baller move. Although I’ve never been a big “Sweet Caroline” guy.
THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION
Congrats to Nelly Korda and Casey Gunderson on not only getting engaged, but doing it with one of the more creative engagement photo shoots ever:
Also, this was some rare PDA from Nelly. In fact, there are no other social-media posts of the two lovebirds together so the LPGA had to confirm Gunderson was the guy. Some might say it’s that type of secrecy that keeps her from being an even bigger star, but to each their own with how much you want to share on social media. I said last week I was selling Nelly’s no-win season, but obviously it’s still been a great year for the gold medalist who now has a diamond ring.
THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS
Nazem Kadri bought all his Calgary Flames teammates custom Scotty Cameron putters in honor of his 1,000th career game.
What a gift! He must be beloved in the locker room. And, apparently, Patrick Mahomes has his own adidas line of … golf clothes?
Interesting. If Kadri wants to get his teammates another gift for Christmas, he might want to start here.
“Should I interview Xander for finishing a hole.” —Colt Knost delivering both the quote and dagger of the week during the Skins Game broadcast.
Tiger Woods says he will NOT play in the PNC Championship and has no timetable for his return to action. So the 15-time major champ will be (at least) 50 when we finally see him tee it up again. Crazy. … Justin Thomas, who is also on the mend like his idol, says the Bethpage grounds crew was arguing with players about green speeds during the Ryder Cup. So much for having a home advantage. … And, finally, we took our little Elphaba and Glinda to see “Wicked For Good” on Black Friday, which including previews had us sitting in the theater for about three hours:
Considering I was just starting my forced Twitter detox, though, that was a good thing. Anyway, it’s a good movie, but nothing will ever top seeing it on Broadway.
RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER
How much money will “Wicked For Good” earn at the box office?
How much money did Xander actually make at the Skins Game?
How long until my Twitter handle gets hacked again?
