Happy Thanksgiving: Biggest turkeys of 2019
Thanksgiving brings us golf's biggest turkeys of the year. This year Matt Kuchar, Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau headline the list.
1 / 11
Matt Kuchar
Early this year, word got out about Matt Kuchar’s payment to the local caddie who helped him win the 2018 Mayakoba Golf Classic, and it turned into a public relations disaster. Despite winning $1.296 million that week and earning more than $46 million over the course of his career, Kuchar acknowledged paying his caddie, David “El Tucan” Ortiz, only $5,000, and then doubled down on that being fair payment in the wake of mounting criticism. Eventually Kuchar relented, offered an apology and paid Ortiz $50,000, but the damage was done.
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2 / 11
Thorbjorn Olesen
After a year in which he won the Italian Open and helped Europe to a Ryder Cup victory, Thorbjorn Olesen had himself a season to forget, and it had nothing to do with his play on the course. The five-time European winner was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, being drunk on board an aircraft and failing to comply with the orders of cabin crew after flying to London from the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in July. Olesen, 29, pleaded not guilty, but is suspended from the European Tour indefinitely pending the outcome of his trial.
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3 / 11
Hank Haney
Hank Haney found himself in hot water during the week of the U.S. Women’s Open in May. After admitting during an interview to not knowing the event was being played that week, Tiger Woods’ former coach quickly predicted a “Korean” to win, then added, “I couldn’t name you six players on the LPGA tour. Maybe I could. Well … I’d go with ‘Lee,’ if I didn’t have to name a first name. I’d get a bunch of them right.” The comments were largely criticized by the golf community. The episode ended with a suspension from his own PGA Tour Radio show and an apology for his “insensitive” comments.
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4 / 11
Trey Bilardello
News of one of the highest U.S. Amateur qualifying scores ever recorded made headlines in July – a 131-over 202 – but it was the circus surrounding the shocking score that landed it on this list. Professional caddie and competitive mini-tour player Trey Bilardello was disqualified after the event for “serious misconduct and failing to play in the spirit of the game,” after it was determined he shot the score on purpose. In fact, after the opening nine the 2.2 handicap reportedly said he “wanted to shoot the highest recorded score in USGA history,” and he started intentionally hitting the ball away from the hole at times just to add strokes.
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5 / 11
Bryson DeChambeau's slow play
Pace of play was a burning topic of conversation all year, but no one garnered more attention when it came to the subject than Bryson DeChambeau. Whether he was walking off a 70-yard pitch shot, taking more than two minutes to line up a short putt or insisting he’s not slow and telling the “haters” to screw off, DeChambeau was called out several times over the course of the year, by media members, fans and most importantly, his fellow players. The Mad Scientist’s methodical approach was ripped by several prominent Tour pros, including Brooks Koepka, who arranged a face-to-face meeting at The Northern Trust in August.
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6 / 11
Eddie Pepperell goes 'Tin Cup'
Eddie Pepperell had himself a "Tin Cup” moment in November at the Turkish Airlines Open, being disqualified for failing to complete his round after running out of balls. On his 13th hole of the day, Pepperell hit his approach into the water, then hastily hit “four or five” more balls into the water before informing his group that he was out of balls and then walked off. “It did not look like he wanted to play,” said playing competitor Martin Kaymer. “I have never seen anything like that before. I only watched it on television, in 'Tin Cup.' This is the first time I have seen it live."
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7 / 11
Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau
Damaging a golf course with an outburst is a sure-fire way to be included in Top Turkeys of the Year, just ask Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau. Garcia, who has been known to run a little hot, was disqualified from the third round of Saudi International for “serious misconduct” after intentionally damaging several greens – this coming during the same event cameras caught him ripping up a bunker in anger. DeChambeau was caught in the background of a shot at the WGC-Mexico Championship slamming his putter and damaging a practice green. To their credit, both players apologized for their actions, but you can’t get off this infamous list that easy.
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8 / 11
Tiger Woods gambler
Not many people saw Tiger Woods’ Masters win coming, but one bettor did, to the tune of more than $1 million. James Adducci made headlines just after Woods’ return to major championship glory when it was revealed he had cashed out an $85,000 bet at 14-1 odds to win $1.19 million. However, the 39-year-old Wisconsin man decided to press his luck and immediately gave some of that money right back, betting $100,000 on Tiger to win the single-season Grand Slam at 100-1 odds. Woods called it a "dumbass” bet before finishing out his major season missed cut, T-21, missed cut.
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9 / 11
Players vs. USGA rift over rules
Much like combative political talk during Thanksgiving dinner, it wouldn’t be a proper Top Turkeys list without a rules controversy, and this year the ongoing rift between players and the USGA was nothing but controversy. Starting early in the year, after the implementation of the updated Rules of Golf, several instances popped up that showed just how strained the relationship had become. There was the caddie alignment rule, which required clarification after major pushback from players, there was the USGA publicly calling out Justin Thomas and subsequently apologizing, there was Rickie Fowler mockingly taking a drop from his backside after being penalized the previous week. It’s easy to point fingers, but the truth is, everyone in this situation will be a turkey until the two sides figure out how to co-exist.
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10 / 11
Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar
Matt Kuchar's and Sergio Garcia’s quarterfinal match at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play was marred in controversy after Garcia missed a tap-in from inches away that he thought had been conceded. Kuchar told a rules official he would’ve given Garcia the putt but he didn’t get a chance. Garcia took blame for the incident and that should’ve been the end of it, but things remained heated for the rest of the match as the two players discussed a way to remedy the situation, including Kuchar conceding a hole. Ultimately that didn’t happen and Kuchar moved on to the next round, but the story stole all the headlines over the weekend and the players eventually had to make nice on social media.
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11 / 11
Bubba Watson the annoying texter
If Bubba Watson isn’t chosen by Tiger Woods as a special assistant captain for this year’s Presidents Cup, well now you know why. In an interview earlier this year, Watson admitted he gets a little excited when he has access to Woods’ phone number, and often texts him so often that Tiger will block him. “I send him so many text messages. Just random stuff like ‘Look at this, it’s a bottle of water. Oh, here’s this.’ So that might be why he blocked me,” Watson said. “But for that one week when we’re on the team together, I love to just send him random stuff. And he’s like ‘Can you please stop?'”
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