There is so, so much to discuss.
Here are 18 Parting Thoughts from the grounds of Royal Troon.
Well, well, well…do we have a little Player of the Year debate on our hands?
Its how legacies are measured.
Xander Schauffele won two of them this year.
Scottie Scheffler won one.
Id vote for Scheffler personally.
Its not like he won six tournaments but didnt knock off a major.
Which player you vote for is sort of an indictment on how much non-majors matter.
I really hope our sport isnt going that way, however.
We dont want to go the way of tennis, where everyone only pays attention four times a year.
Scotties got my vote as of right now.
The two-major club welcomed its newest member today in Xander Schauffele.
Thats a very popular number in world golf at the minute.
You have to feel for Justin Rose, who wanted this tournament so incredibly badly.
For a young guy, thats no bother; you take the positives and get ready for next year.
When youre in your mid 40s, the near-misses hit that much harder.
Just ask Matt Kuchar.
This marks the first American clean sweep in the majors since 1982.
On an individual level, the U.S. game has never been stronger.
On the Ryder Cup level, we know its not the same story.
Looking at you, Keegan.
Shoot your career round, odds are youre going to love the course.
Get your teeth kicked in and maybe you dont see why its rated so highly.
Its only human nature.
Coming into this week his finishes were as follows: T53/CUT/CUT/T11/T40/T53/CUT.
I love them all, he said.
I have yet to play a links course that I dislike or I think is bad.
I think they’re all so unique and so fun.
They can play so differently, obviously, with the conditions.
The punch in of maturity that comes in your 30s.
A few British terms that are far superior to their American counterparts.
Saying someone is level is way cooler than saying theyre even par.
And the term car park beats parking lot 5 and 4.
Its just far more intuitive.
The Tiger Situation has been clear for years now.
He will never, ever be able to contend unless he plays more golf.
We know it and he knows it.
Its been a huge failure.
Thats all well and good.
But Tournament Golf is a different sport.
He hit it to a combined 6 feet.
Then the tournament started.
On Thursday, he blasted one long and right of the green.
On Friday, he flared one short.
He didnt hit any shots like that in the practice rounds.
Its impossible to simulate tournament pressure.
But thats what he said last year.
He has faded, considerably.
That is brutal, and you have to wonder whats going through his head.
But what happens when a player whos made such a leap regresses?
Is he worried that 2023 was a flash in the pan?
How can the mind not wander there?
Or is the work hes done so substantive that hes above such knee-jerk reactions?
Is he unbothered by a lost year in the majors?
Is he extra motivated to show he deserves his place on the Olympic team?
Speaking of the Olympic team.
The quick reply is the guys would never do it; they dont play golf for free.
Fine, then dont play.
Most every other sport has Olympic trials.
Itd sell as a TV product.
In Canada, I remember birdieing…
It’s just about learning from the good or the bad.
It’s just keep on taking them steps forward.
Like, tangibly so.
You dont have the same feel in your hands.
Try keeping that in mind next time you play.
I know Im going to.
The cut, the cut, the cut, Its a dying breed in our sport.
But we must never, ever abandon the cut in the major championships.
Both Tours are clearly operating increasingly as entertainment products.
The goal is to make a return on investment.
But the majors are not the tour events.
They stand alone as the true legacy-makers in our sport.
There are amateurs and 50-year-old past champions and mini tour pros who got hot at the right time.
And for these guys, just making the cut is a massive achievement in and of itself.
Its a tournament within a tournament for the guys who dont have a chance to win the actual tournament.
Take Tommy Morrison, for example.
And he made the cut on the number.
The cut also weighs heavily on far more accomplished players.
Padraig Harrington was thinking about it his entire back nine.
Yeah, cuts are always a nasty thing.
Definitely if there was no cut line, I would have been a couple of shots better.
You do start thinking about – and I shouldn’t have.
It plays mind games on guys.
Consider the Curious Case of Sungjae Im.
Its embarrassing for a player of his caliber to miss a cut.
Not with your play in the past, but your play that week.
Eat what you kill.
Rory McIlroy cant help himself.
So many of his headaches are self-inflicted wounds.
He gave the fans something to cheer about with a hole-out from the bunker on 14.
Then he stepped to the microphone.
Once I made the 8 on the 4th hole, that was it.
Yeah, that was basically it.
Yeah, it was a pretty meaningless 14 holes after that.
Why would you say that?!
You did the hard partnot throwing in the towel on the back nine to shoot a respectable score.
His, actually, was even worse: he started triple-bogey/bogey/bogey/triple-bogey.
Just give them what they want, a severe dig and fight, and that’s what I done.
I just tried my best and managed to turn it around.
Hes living his dream, and hes bringing us along for the ride in real time.
I caught up with Matt after his round on Friday, which saw him safely make the weekend.
That, too, has been a lifelong dream of his.
I remember I played there when I was 17, and it was like a poster in my room.
I wanted to play in America and practice there.
It is so amazing.
At 31, hes finally doing the thing.
It used to be a proper novelty.
And back in the day you only saw DoDs result in low burning cuts.
Now guys are able to hit them pretty high and pretty straight.
They keep trying to make holes longer, but the best hole on this course is 100 yards.
The Postage Stamp is the perfect short par 3.
Nothing more than a wedge in calm conditions, but there are almost never calm conditions.
Hit it in that bunker and youre doing well to keep your next one on the green.
It’s just a testament to what a great designed hole that is, says Jon Rahm.
What is it, 115, 120 yards today?
We’re all very thankful if we hit the green or if we just leave with a par.
But it was just very difficult to do.
Guys bailed out right all week.
Check out this graphic from the braodcast on Sunday.
The hole yielded plenty of birdies but also plenty of big numbersRory McIlroy doubled it on Thursday.
Shane Lowry birdied it the first two days then doubled it on Saturday.
Joaquin Niemann made an 8 on Friday.
Heres to the short par 3.
The 12th at Augusta.
The 17th at TPC Sawgrass.
The 7th at Pebble Beach.
Just so, so good.
His swing is badassload, pause, explode.
Hes one of my favorites to watch hit wedges with how much he flights them down.
Hes underratedly creative around the greens.
But he often looks like hed rather be anywhere besides a golf course.
I walked all 18 with Xander Schauffeles group on Saturday afternoon in the worst of the weather.
Its impossible to overstate just how hard that back nine was playing.
Scottie Scheffler called it the hardest nine hes ever played.
Dustin Johnson called it the hardest nine holes possible in golf.
16 is a par-5.
3-wood into 17, 2-iron into 18.
It was bitterly cold.
It didnt let up for one second.
And Xander Schauffele managed to shoot two-under 69.
I cant even fathom the patience, discipline and sheer grit required to shoot that score in those conditions.
You know the what would a scratch golfer shoot in these conditions hypothetical?
A scratch golfer wouldve quite after 4 holes.
Pinehurst is obviously an extremely difficult layout but it was warm and mostly windless.
It was a test of execution.
This week was a test of execution and mental fortitude.
You had to, somehow, take a stab at embrace the chaos.
Thats the end of major championship season, and weve got nine long months until the Masters.
Thank you all for following along with the major coverage this year.
You guys make this possible.
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