Tiger Woods is back(ish), Rory McIlroy gets trash talked by his dad, and plenty of wacky shots and viral videos that you may have missed on the interwebs from around the golf world last week.
All that and plenty more in this edition of The Social.
WHAT WE’RE CHIRPING ABOUT
Tiger Woods is always either back or completely finished. There is no in between.
Well, thanks to a video that surfaced last week from his inaugural Nexus Cup benefiting the TGR Foundation, Tiger can officially be declared back and better than ever.
Sure, there’s that pesky arthroscopic knee surgery from which still recovering, and the fact that he’s only recorded a single top-10 finish on Tour since his Masters victory in April, but ... he did come in first place in his most recent appearance on a golf course, topping Michael Strahan in a putting contest on Liberty National’s 18th green at the 40-second mark of the video below.
.@TigerWoods is back on top of his game, so @michaelstrahan thought it would be a good time to challenge the golf great to an epic re-match.
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 27, 2019
The golf legend talks #NexusCup, his legacy and what he wants his kids to learn from him. https://t.co/i9rZzYNwW0 pic.twitter.com/Mz4Zz9fJ7X
The made putt, the vintage celebration, the trash talk. Tiger Woods is back, baby!.
You, know, until he’s not, again.
DAD JOKES
Rory McIlroy has proven over the years that he can talk the talk, always willing to tell you exactly what’s on his mind or ready with a witty one-liner.
And after getting a quick glimpse inside his pairing for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last week, it’s easy to see where he got that from.
McIlroy partnered with his father, Gerry, and while they nearly won the pro-am, it was the competition between the two of them early in the week that produced the best highlight.
Before teeing off in a practice round, Rory was trying to tell his dad he wouldn’t be spotting him as many shots as the day before, to which his dad replied, “and to lose two days in a row ... would really knock your confidence?”
Father 🆚 Son
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 25, 2019
How many shots would you need against Rory McIlroy? #DunhillLinks pic.twitter.com/cyVclR4tBw
The response seemed to do the impossible – leave Rory speechless. Sometimes, all you can do is tip your cap and say touché.
NOTHING-TO-DO-WITH-GOLF VIDEO INTERMISSION
Go home beverage cart, you’re drunk.
Crazy event at ORD. Heads up safety move by a ramp worker! pic.twitter.com/SQi5zB0Ooz
— Kevin Klauer DO, EJD (@Emergidoc) September 30, 2019
SHOTS OF THE WEEK
With all of the professional golf being played across the globe last week, you’d think one of those guys in the pay-for-play ranks would have this category locked up. Well you’d be wrong.
This week, the honor goes to a couple of amateurs.
First up is this South African businessman competing in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, who played his tee shot on a par 3 off the cart path, then off the rock wall, back off the cart path, onto the green and nearly into the hole for an ace.
One of the luckiest shots we've ever seen 🍀🤯#DunhillLinks pic.twitter.com/PsoxuznUBQ
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 27, 2019
While there’s no topping that result, this shot from a member-guest event at the Philadelphia Cricket Club also deserves some serious attention.
After missing the green so badly that he ended up on the other side of the clubhouse, this guy had the stones to play his next shot directly over said clubhouse, and from the looks of things he pulled it off ... or at least didn’t break any windows.
tag a buddy who would break something 👀 #1854 pic.twitter.com/V5RA5FfgeT
— PCC1854 (@pcc1854) September 28, 2019
GUY WHO PROBABLY DID SHOTS BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS OF THE WEEK
Another scenario where we cannot stress strongly enough: Do not try this or anything remotely close to it.
But we sure are glad the camera was rolling this time around.
Backflip over the water hazard while catching a beer and chugging it after sticking the landing ... this guy doesn’t just golf, he lives and breathes it.
Hey, at least this is safer than running your buddy over with a golf cart, maybe?
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
This space is normally reserved for something funny or snarky between players or fans, but we’d be remiss to not give a golf clap to Cameron Champ, who authored an incredible story over the weekend.
With his grandfather in hospice care battling stage-4 stomach cancer, Champ won the Safeway Open and dedicated the win to his “Pops,” who started teaching Champ the game when he was just 2 years old.
He said afterward that no matter how many tournaments he wins, that this triumph, under these circumstances, would be the “the greatest moment of [his] golfing career.”
And if you’re having trouble reading this now through the tears, just know you’re not alone.
