The Shag Bag: Squirrelly start for McIlroy
27 JUN 2018
Video of the Week
Rory McIlroy’s tee time on Saturday morning was delayed a few extra moments after an adventurous squirrel scurried onto the first tee block and stopped in its track directly in front of the Northern Irishman.
Shot of the Week
James Hahn earned this week’s honours after jarring his tee shot on the 11th hole at the Travelers Championship on Moving Day. And even though it was the first hole-in-one of the 36-year-old’s career, we’re still going to refer to him as Hahn Solo from now on.
Swing of the Week
Charles Barkley meet your match!
Shank of the Week
This young man brought the roof down with his flashy helicopter finish… literally!
Freefalling
We’ve posted videos of some funky follow-throughs over the years, but we cannot remember the last time that we saw a golfer lose their balance and tumble down a hill after a swing. To add insult to injury here, the poor guy didn’t even manage to get his ball out of the fescue with that hack — although, he did stick the landing, which must count for something!
A Hand Retriever
Ryan Vermeer won the 51st PGA Professional Championship last week, but it was 13-year-old Dylan Block who got the most media attention at the event after some terrific caddy work for his father, Michael, who works as the head professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California. Last week marked the first time that Dylan ever caddied for his father, and the duo got off to a commendable start a day earlier with a 76 in the opening round. Michael came into the second round needing a 73 or less to make the 36-hole cut and was already two-over-par for the day when he hit an errant drive on the 15th hole that seemed to disappear into a burrowing hole at the base of a tree. It seemed like the hole would be too small to retrieve the ball, which meant that Michael would have to return to the tee and strike another shot, effectively ending his chances at making the cut. But Dylan was not so easily deterred and fearlessly reached his arm into that hole to retrieve his father’s ball. Michael was subsequently granted free relief from the hole and went on to birdie the hole, and eventually the 18th, to shoot an even-par round of 72 and sneak just inside the cut line. “I’ll tell you what, there’s no way I would have seen it and no way I would have gotten it,” said Michael. “That was huge. I would not be making the cut right now if that didn’t happen. Dylan did a great job. I couldn’t tell you how proud I am of him.”
Timed Out
Zach Johnson finished his second round at the Travelers Championship one stroke back of leader Brian Harman and would have been tied for the lead outright if only his putt on the 12th hole had dropped into the cup a little quicker. Johnson was eight-under for the week at the time and had an outside chance of making an 18-foot birdie putt from just off the green. But the 42-year-old struck it well and the ball came to rest right on the cusp of the cup. Johnson stood over the ball for approximately 10 seconds and then went to tap his ball in, only to watch it roll into the cup as he addressed it. However, because more than 10 total seconds had elapsed since reaching the ball, Johnson was ruled to have holed out with his previous shot and was subsequently assessed a stroke. The 2007 Masters champion did not try to appeal the ruling, stating after the round that it was the right decision and that he knew that more than 10 seconds had transpired because he was counting in his head. “The ball is rolling and I’m like, ‘I can’t touch it, it’s moving. As I get closer to it, it’s moving even more, so I don’t want to touch a moving ball,’” recounted Johnson. “However, even if I would have, it wouldn’t have mattered. It’s a four. All I know is that it’s a four. I could have walked really slow to the ball, but I’m not so sure I would have felt good about that.”
