Thanksgiving brings us golf’s biggest turkeys of the year. Donald Trump, Grayson Murray and a certain (now-former) tournament director headline the list.
Donald Trump has played a lot of golf since being elected President of the United States, but one video in particular of him on the course seemed to rub a lot of golfers the wrong way. In June, the POTUS was recorded driving his cart on the green at Trump National Bedminster. Sure, he’s the president and he owns the place, but some things are universally understood no matter who you are. Not driving your cart on the putting surface is one of them.Click here for more on the story.
Murray has an incredible story, but no one’s story is perfect. The PGA Tour rookie who battles social anxiety picked up his first win at the Barbasol Championship in July but also had his fair share of Twitter hiccups along the way. From calling out other players for withdrawing to taking shots at the European Tour and PGA Tour Champions, the 24-year-old found plenty of controversy during his first season in the big leagues. Click here for more on the story.
The end of the ANA Inspiration was, to put it nicely, a giant turkey. Two shots ahead on the back nine in the final round of the LPGA’s first major, Lexi Thompson was suddenly penalized two shots for incorrectly marking her ball on the 17th green in Saturday’s round and another two shots for signing an incorrect scorecard after someone called in the infraction upon spotting it on TV. The 22-year-old eventually lost out on her second major title in a playoff, and debate over how the situation was handled lingered for months. Click here for more on the story.
For the second time in five years, the Evian Championship was shortened from 72 to 54 holes because of weather. That wouldn’t be that big of a deal for a regular event, but considering that the Evian is the LPGA’s fifth major, the decision was met with plenty of backlash. The fact that it was decided on Thursday based on the forecast for the week made it look even worse for Mike Whan and tournament officials. Click here for more on the story.
After Elkington tweeted that McIlroy’s ceiling may be four majors and $100 million in earnings, McIlroy responded with a screenshot of his on-course accomplishments and said he had made $200 million. The two then continued to squabble about money and grammar mistakes and comparisons to Jack Nicklaus. While social media users sided with McIlroy in the mini-feud, neither side came out looking great and Rory handed his Twitter account over to his wife shortly thereafter. Click here for more on the story.
In the middle of the RBC Canadian Open, tournament director Brent McLaughlin was suspended from his position and banned from the weekend of the event he was supposed to be in charge of. Golf Canada’s CEO called the decision “a confidential Golf Canada employee matter” and offered no further details on the suspension. While the specifics of the bizarre incident remain a secret, whatever McLaughlin did was enough to get him on this list. Click here for more on the story.
Afterwards he called it accidental, but 2017 brought us another Daly club throw - this time featuring a putter and a lake. Daly, who won for the first time on the 50-and-over circuit a few months later, withdrew with a sciatic nerve issue at the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Fla., in February, but walked off without his putter, which he tossed into a lake on the seventh hole. There was no video of the incident, but the 51-year-old took full responsibility and said he “shouldn’t have tossed it.’' So, credit for that. Click here for more on the story.
Maybe there was a miscommunication, but paying up on a bet only after getting called out on social media is not a good look. But that’s exactly where Crane found himself in April, when former PGA Tour player Tom Gillis called Crane out for owing Daniel Berger $6,000 for a lost putting contest. According to Gillis, it had been more than two months since the bet had been lost. Crane paid up a day later after Gillis’ tweets went viral. Click here for more on the story.
Bubba Watson has had better years on the golf course. The two-time Masters champ switched golf balls, had zero wins and missed three major cuts. He also continued his prickly relationship with the media, responding at the Masters and at The Open with jabs about how hard golf is compared to writing articles. Click here for more on the story.
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Muirfield voted in March to allow female members for the first time in the club’s 273-year history. All it took was a threat from the R&A to exclude it from The Open rota and a second try on the vote. Rory McIlroy took the club to task over the fact that it took them two votes to get it right, saying, “We’ll go back and we’ll play The Open Championship, because they will let women members in, but every time I go to Muirfield now I won’t have a great taste in my mouth.” Click here for more on the story.
World No. 1 and overwhelming favorite Johnson withdrew from the Masters moments before his first-round tee time, all because he was wearing socks and slipped on some stairs in the house he was renting near Augusta National. Johnson was coming into the year’s first major fresh off of three victories, but the back injury ultimately cost him three weeks on the sidelines. He didn’t win again until the Northern Trust in August. Click here for more on the story.