From Tiger and his monster lobster to Tour pros vactioning just about everywhere, here’s a look at the best social media moments.
PGA Tour rookie Grayson Murray made some noise on the course this year, but he made a lot more off of it. Murray, 24, was in the news constantly for his social media habits, and not usually in a good way. From (successfully) asking a Playboy model to caddie for him to ripping the Champions and European tours to feuding with other players, golf social media in 2017 starts and ends with Murray. Click here for the story.
The spring break boys were back in action this year, heading back to the Bahamas for their second annual vacation, #SB2K17. Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Smylie Kaufman played all the hits for their fans, getting in some shirtless golf, yacht jumping and even finding time to feed pigs on the beach. And bonus, they even got their own Snapchat filter for the occasion. Safe to say this crew has officially made it. Click here for the story.
We didn’t see much of Tiger Woods on the golf course in 2017, but he was more visible than ever on social media. While recovering from his back injury, Woods was spotted all over the place, posing for pictures with soccer stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, taking a selfie with some random guys at the gym, supporting Rafael Nadal at the U.S. Open and at a Miami Dolphins-Oakland Raiders NFL game. But his best social media moment has to be this photo he posted from the Bahamas - on a boat, shirtless, holding a lobster the size of a small child. Yeah, that’s the clear winner. Click here for the story.
Golf fans were going to be excited for Tiger Woods’ return to professional golf whenever and wherever it happened, but he added plenty of fuel to the fire himself in October, when he started sharing videos of his swing. When he got the all-clear from his doctor and posted a video wearing his traditional Sunday red while swinging a full driver, Tiger-mania was officially back. Click here for the story.
When Tiger Woods did officially come back to professional golf at Decemeber’s Hero World Challenge after sitting out most of the year with an injured back, Twitter completely lost it, and that includes other Tour pros and celebrities from all walks of life. Steph Curry, Michael Phelps, Niall Horan, John Daly, Michelle Wie and Carson Daly were just some of the big names who took to Twitter to share their excitement. Click here for the story.
We saw plenty of President Donald Trump in professional golf in 2017, whether it was at the Presidents Cup or the Women’s U.S. Open, he seemed to always be front and center. But a few clips of him playing golf were what really got social media riled up, none more so than when it appeared he drove his cart onto the green at Trump National Bedminster. Click here for the story.
Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky have dominated golf social media for years, and 2017 was no different. Not only did they do a golf-themed gender reveal and post adorable photos of their new baby before the U.S. Open, but the power couple also found time for a couple of vacations, none more popular than when they hit the Bahamas after the PGA Championship. This just in: Life is still good for these two. Click here for the story.
Brooks Koepka had a pretty good year, and his girlfriend Jena Sims was by his side every step of the way. First it was winning the U.S. Open and celebrating by heading to Vegas and drinking Fireball Cinnamon Whisky out of the trophy. Then the two took a vacation in the tropical paradise of the Phi Phi Islands, Thailand where they soaked up some sun, posed for cute pictures and played with monkeys. There’s a good chance this isn’t the last we see of these two. Click here for the story.
Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has been known to ruffle some feathers, and it was Ian Poulter who took issue with some of Chamblee’s comments at The Players in May. After Chamblee said Poulter did not play to win down the stretch, the Englishman took to Twitter to fire back, writing, among other things, “it’s clearly very easy sitting on your arse.” Chamblee revealed that he had blocked Poulter on social media years earlier, and therefore the dust-up was rather short-lived. Click here for the story.
Rory McIlroy was involved in another Twitter beef in 2017, and it may be his last as he revealed afterward that he turned his social media over to his wife in the wake of this one. After former PGA champ Steve Elkington said Rory was bored with the game, McIlroy shot back with a list of his accomplishments and how much money he’s made. It’s $200 million, in case you were curious. The two traded a few more barbs, and spelling errors, before things settled down. Click here for the story.
Phil Mickelson isn’t the most active guy on social media, but even he couldn’t pass up a chance to take a selfie with three former U.S. presidents while playing in the Presidents Cup. You’ll have to forgive him if he almost cut his face out of the picture with Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The photo ended up on his brother and caddie Tim’s Twitter account and it was retweeted over 20,000. Click here for the story.
We’re used to seeing Greg Norman without a shirt on, but in July, he appeared to have misplaced his pants as well. Norman, 62, took a therapeutic trip 11,850 feet up in the mountains of the Colorado Flat Top Wilderness, and posted a tasteful nude photo on his Instagram page of his time by the lake that will be burned into your memory for all of eternity. Hey, if you got it, flaunt it, right? Click here for the story.
John Daly and Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston seem like a couple of guys who would get along great, and they proved it in March during an impromptu Periscope Ask Me Anything titled the “Meat and Beef Show.” The “best friends” discussed everything from what they were drinking (“everything”) to their hypothetical adult film star names (Slippery Wood and Beef Tip). It’s quite the 30-minute conversation. Click here for the story.
While playing in the Tour Championship, Kevin Kisner needed a helicopter ride to the Georgia football game and put out a call for help on Twitter. Twitter delivered. Kisner scored a ride there and back on a chopper and was able to watch his alma mater’s game from the sidelines. “Twitter’s a pretty amazing thing,” he said afterward. Click here for the story.
Sergio Garcia super-fan, Mark Johnson, does not take no for an answer. After asking Garcia on Twitter for 206 straight days to caddie for him, the Masters champ finally caved and let Johnson carry his bag for the British Masters pro-am. Ask and you shall receive, or something like that. Click here for the story.