Bogey Bogey Start

 To go or not go that is the question. Have you ever seen live PGA golf or any of the other (cough cough) lesser (cough cough) tours like, (sneeze) the one that sucks?  Surely, you've watched golf from home.. Masters? US Open? John Deere? Barricuda? My existential question here is, would you rather stay home, or go to an event? This is not cut and dry as you may believe. Its cool to see these folks hit balls like the pros they are. BUT you have little notification of whats happening on the course. Maybe you hear some yelling... what does it mean? Who is it? If you were on your couch... you'd know instantly. BUT you would see it in 2D.. its a hard one. No wrong choice though. Anyway,  Its November.... I lost my sign in stuff for MONTHS.. It was a messy time. But guess what, over that time, Bogey Bogey Start turned 2. No big deal... I only wrote like 1 or 2 posts last year... I'M SORRY! You don't care though.

RORY!  Liv sucks RORY is 1 of 6 people EVER to win the Grand Slam. and he's married to a girl from Rochester, NY so he gets my vote forever! Given this connection there is a decent chance, Rory knows what a garbage plate is. -Swing Easy-

 As the world around us burns... figuratively and literally......it's finally Masters Tourney time. Let me start with saying that the Masters App is.... THE SHIT. If you are reading this, you probably already know this. It leads major coverage by a wide margin. Others do not even come close to the accessibility this app gives golf fans. --Side bar--- remember when the PGA Championship was on TNT? WTF? As I start writing this Justin Rose finished his round atop the leaderboard. This dude is impressive. I know he spends an ass load of time and money on keeping his body right, but ya still have to make the shots, and boy howdy does he. Can he go wire to wire? Last to do it was Spieth in 2015.... shout out Brian Riddle. Be like J. Rose... replace your divots.. you monsters Does Nick Dunlap seem like he's having fun? No... no he did not have fun. In his opening round, the 2024 American Express Tournament darling, finished his opening round with a 90! +18. +18!!!!!! +18!!???? Un frea...

  Let me start by saying.....I have not played, nor watched golf since August. 2024. No watching because Big Scheff is making it boring... in a very cool way. No playing because Asheville (where I live) had many of its courses wiped out by Helene... that b. A new season (does it ever end?) is upon us, and we are getting close to seeing El Tigre at the Genesis. Granted we have TGL now too. I personally have seen only the blow out matches. Also, super strange to see Tiger's mom in attendance at his last match and days later she passed away. Life is friggin something else. **I am too slow of a writer... he pulled out of the Genesis due to his mother's death.** I am trying to get my steam back... it might never return. I do not care for the Waste Masters Classic or as it is otherwise known the Phoenix Waste Management Open. Honestly, I need to experience some nice weather to get physically and mentally back into golf... usually by the Florida swing. LIV sucks. Still. Adrian Meronk!...

 While sitting on the couch, watching a quite boring 2023 Open Championship, I had an idea to make it more interesting (at least for me). Bogey Bogey Start was born out of boredom, and a love of the game of golf.  About 2 weeks before the start of the Open and the birth of BBS, I was fired from a golf course job for going to my grandma's 80th birthday. The Superintendant at the course I worked at was a drunken sociopath and  I was not too bothered by being canned. Having had 10 years previous experience in brewing I thought it would be an easy re-entry into working in that industry. It was not. The bulk of 2023 was hard for yer boi. Despite endless efforts to get a job, attend events to meet people, and get my name out, it all proved worthless. What made my life palatable to me last year was trying to find an audience through this long outdated medium of blogging. I did not have a blog in 2006, why would I start one in 2023? I tend to swim upstream. Back to being gainfull...

 Welllllllllllllllllll... I don't know if people are actually reading this stuff, but Google tells me that you are. Which is amazing because I have made it so hard on you all. Please know that I truly appreciate all of you, whether you're just a hacker clicking on here to (not) get any payout, or just a lookie loo, or if you actually find anything in this mumbo jumbo, I thank you very much for checking it out. Anyway. What has happened? I do love the Canadian Open. Sorry to see Nelly come down to earth with a +10 in the US Open (5/30), including a 10 on a par 3. I'm sure I've gotten a 10 on a par 3, I just never had the strength to write it down. Grayson Murray... very sad. Sun Day Red. How much more money does Tiger need? $90 dollars for a monocolored t-shirt? And, god damnit! Mock turtlenecks!? People... save/invest your money.                                             ...

 Man... just give it some time, and things turn around eh? Akshay wins and gets in, its Masters week(!!!), and I have myself a Masters kid, who turns 2 on Friday, with a party to follow on Saturday. That is to say... yer boy will not get to see all of his favorite week in golf. Alas, those of us that are parents, know the struggle... right?  Friggin Akshay!! My guy, our guy! He gutted out a win in San Antonio this past weekend to get an automatic spot at Augusta the following week. As if that pressure was not enough... Akshay sunk a 12-foot, downhill put to force a playoff and in a very ok celebration... separated his own shoulder. Sports injuries through celebration are a specific cringe in my opinion. My guy Akshay joins Tony Finau (ankle separation, Par 3 contest...memba?) Bill Gramatica the former Cardinals kicker who while celebrating a made field goal (that's your job) tore his ACL,  quarterback Gus Frerotte who sprained his own neck slamming his head off a wall whi...

 Well then... a 20-year-old sophomore in college won an event. Anthony Kim might come back. And he'll probably join LIV... right?  We've all heard it by now but last weekend a friggin 20-year-old won the American Express. Given his amateur status, Nick Dunlap missed out on a milli and a half payout, and 500 FedExCup points. Never a better time to finish second than last week. Yet another thing almost none of us can empathize with is, "Yeah, I missed a chance to win $1.5 million this weekend." Poor bastard turned pro days after. We'll see lil Nicky Dunlap elsewhere this season and you'll hear about it for the thousandth time here on Bogey Bogey Start. Golf.com reported this week that Anthony Kim is expected to return to golf this year. He is of course being courted by LIV, while PGA officials in the story "declined to comment." Classic PGA huh.. have you learned nothing over the last 2 years? Kim, who has not played professional golf since 2012, has ...

 Just wanted to pop on here and wish you all the happiest of holidays!  Now.... Jon Rahm and his one short leg are going to LIV. Golf balls are getting rolled back and pro's are pissed. As you know by now, my beliefs... fuck em. In other news, Tiger's back!  I believe that my pro golf viewing will come down to watching only the tournaments that El Tigre is playing in, and just hope for him to pull another rabbit out of a hat.  I'd rather that then watch these other guys whine and moan about balls being rolled back. Honestly, that drama is going to do me in altogether in watching golf, and I'll clear the internet of my presence and some other sorry sap can fiddle away their time trying to reach an audience. I started this because of my love of golf, but between having now worked in the golf industry, and seeing the demise of pro golf, and evolution of overt selfishness in the game... I could just pack it in... OR continue to just talk shit about these rich assholes.. ...

 Anyone else getting tired of professional golf? I mean, shiiiiit, I love the game of golf but these last few years have really tested my love of professional golf. Case in point... Patrick Cantlay at the Ryder Cup. I know I've thrown it all at Zach Johnson in previous writings, but let's take a break from him and move on to Patrick Cantlay. Known for his glacial play, and lifeless reactions, Cantlay reportedly was pouting about not being paid to partake in the Ryder Cup. Are you kidding me!? This knob should just shove off to LIV. His "protest" of not wearing a hat during the Ryder Cup is whatever to me. All those clothes are nothing any of us would wear on a golf course. What gets me going is you're going to throw a selfish ass fit that leads to fractures on your own team!? That brings me to Brooks Koepka and this photo... Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Sam Burns, and the Xandy man took this photo wearing LIV team shirts after the US team got their asses handed to the...

 Wellllllllll.... whatdya know? Zach Johnson and Team US are getting their asses handed to them in Rome. As of this writing, Europe is up 9.5 to 2.5. This after Europe dismantled the US pairings on Friday morning, starting out 4-0. Now although it has been well documented that the US squad hasn't won on European soil in a Ryder Cup in 30 years, I would be willing to lay this result (to be determined) at the feet of Zach Johnson.                                                                      How many layers are you guessing? Why is this guy even the captain!? I believe this occurrence is part of the hangover of Tiger-Mania in the early to mid-2000s. After 2011, there was a battle of uninspiring golfers, and amongst those... Zach Johnson. While we can attribute greatness ...

 I'll be honest... Motivation has been hard to come by recently. Golf has slowed down, life is bizarre, and the seasons are changing. These transformations can seem depressing, but we've got to try and see the beauty in the everyday. I've taken time away from writing my mumbo jumbo golf stuff and reflected on the future of Bogey Bogey Start. That being said, let's talk about some recent events. Luke Donald released his roster last week. Donald lets recall, is Ryder Cup captain because Henrik Stenson chased money with LIV and was denied an opportunity to be captain of the European Ryder Cup team. Captain Luke has never won a major and is right there with Zach Johnson as one of the more "mehh" golfers in history. A fitting duel for the two of them. The battle for supreme mediocrity. Donald's closest greatness was when Tiger fell from world number 1, and Donald, Lee Westwood, and Rory did that weird three way back and forth business for a while. Our guy Luke ...

 Thinking I'd let the news wash over everyone before writing this but my thoughts have not changed so here goes... Zach Johnson has never been a golfer that excited me. Yes, he won a Masters and an Open Championship. Were they thrilling or even interesting events, or were you watching and hoping someone else won those events?  Now let's carry that onto the Ryder Cup. Yikes! With his captain's picks this week Johnson chose Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Collin Marikowa, and Jordan Spieth. Obviously, the big shock is Justin Thomas who has struggled all summer with form and had to make a cut the last week of the regular season to seemingly even be considered.Yes, he "wanted" to play on the Ryder Cup team, but ya know who also wanted to play and finished ahead of Justin Thomas in the regular standings... Keegan Bradley. Bradley who won in Connecticut early this summer, has played in 2 Ryder Cups previously, and this is the closest he's bee...

  Viktor friggin Hovland! Regarding the previous post, here at Bogey Bogey Start we were correct in saying it would be a top-rated golfer who won the Tour Championship, but to my misfortune, I wrote Scheffler, Rahm, and McIlroy. Negating that Hovland was 3rd, and avoiding him altogether.  Scheffler seemingly won't allow himself to do well at East Lake.. evidenced by having a 7-shot lead going into the final round in 2022, to finish second, and this year with an opening round that saw him with a 5 shot clearance of the pack, relinquished over the rest of the first round, and all of the second round. He finished a disappointing T6. With his ball striking any year could be the year of Big Schef... if only the putting agrees. Rahm has lost whatever absolute magic he had early on in the season. He became less bulletproof off the tee and less potent with mid-range putts. Early in the season, Rahm was a fairway seeker.. it was almost boring to watch it was so good and reliable. A nat...

 Lets get the doom and gloom out of the way. Could heat eventually lead to a different annual calendar on the PGA Tour? This week in Atlanta the temperatures will feel well over 100 degrees. The same heat issues happened 2 weeks ago in Memphis. Harris English's caddie Eric Larson had to be replaced mid-round as Larson was suffering from heat exhaustion. Lucas Glover, after his swamp ass became an internet moment, said he wasn't as wet when he took a shower that morning. The heat in Memphis was bad and the heat this week in Atlanta will be just as bad, if not worse. With caddies carrying all that weight, and due to duties on course, probably, generally, poorly hydrating, it seems like something bad might happen sooner rather than later. I do not want that to happen, but the PGA seems to love their Southern golf late in the summer, and whatever your beliefs, the weather is changing...FACT.  As if golf is not hard enough, the heat will create an added wrinkle to the competition t...

 Man, I am just the worst. Last minute beach trip led to me missing the entire BMW Championship. I was busy livin while Hovland racked up an all important win on Sunday. Also, the US Amateur... missed that too. I love the Am... disappointing I know. I'm disappointed in myself. We persist though! More to come Thursday!

 Freakin Lucas Glover huh? He stood like 163rd in the FedExCup Standings 3 weeks ago. After consecutive wins at a very critical point in the season, he's 4th! Billy Horschel had a hot end-of-season run in 2014 and he won the FedExCup that year. Can Lucamania run wild!? *See Instagram post This week we're heading to the BMW Championship in Illinois with a newly thinned group of players. Only the top 50 make it to Olympia Fields Country Club. To be brutally honest, the players that fell outside the top 50 during last week's play are... mehhhh. With that, the Sleep Scale for the BMW Championship is a conk out (5 minutes). You know one of those naps where you wake up and think, or ask the nearest person "Was I sleeping?" With only the BMW left before the end of the season, I am getting pumped up about the Ryder Cup. It's inching closer and the choices Zach Johnson has to make are getting more interesting with Lucas Glover's performance lately, who might he be ...

 After taking the last couple of weeks away from his post as Commissioner Jay Monahan is back for this week's tournament, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Monahan stepped away for health reasons stemming from what has come from the PGA vs LIV saga. The resulting anxiety and stress I would argue has been self-inflicted by Mr. Monahan. How did it come to this? Despite Jay Monahan's early attempts to monetize value to the PGA in an attempt to curb players from leaving the Tour, as we all know now, LIV Golf took some top names, including all those players listed in part 2, including major champions, including former world number ones. With the backing of the PIF from Saudi Arabia, LIV seemingly has endless pockets and offered hundreds of millions in guaranteed dollars to golfers, and the PGA could not go toe to toe, soooo what did Monahan do? He circled the wagons. As is well documented elsewhere the PGA banned players who left, sued LIV Golf, and has made ongoing efforts to ensure...

 Phil has been courted to play in Saudi Arabia in February 2020 and right now, I am going to lean on, if you are here, you like golf and I'm going to tell you something.... The 2020 Saudi International tournament was won by Graeme Mcdowell, among other high finishers were Dustin Johnson, Phil, Thomas Pieters, Abraham Ancer, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Brooks Koepka, and Ian Poulter. Where are all of these guys now!? Playing for Saudi-backed LIV Golf.  Right under Jay Monahan's nose, there was a revolt bubbling up. As mentioned in Part 1, Phil also was playing in the PGA Tour Champions in 2021, and crushing. He played very well in the events he partook in. Through his experience in Saudi Arabia in 2020 and juxtaposing his success in the Tour Champions, I have to believe that he saw the competition as unfulfilling and the pay probably wasn't enough to even sniff his gambling debts. Meanwhile, in 2021, Jay Monahan was staving off attempts by groups outside the PGA to alter t...

 No recap is needed here... I'm sure you're tired of reading about who made the playoffs, and who missed the playoffs. Or maybe you're tired of golf period. While I can't help that you don't like golf, we can talk about something else.........how about the driving force behind the PGA Tour? "Is it the players?" you might ask. No, no, it is one man. Pull up a chair, grab a beer, and let's talk about Bernie Madoff... I mean, Gary Bettman.. no no, I mean Jay Monahan. Yes, yes PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.  Here's Jay in his basement Jay Monahan became the Commissioner of the PGA Tour on January 1st, 2017.  -sidebar: 2017 seems like it was yesterday, but holy crap it was 6 years ago- Monahan after college worked to establish what became the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, and followed that by working with the Fenway Group. More directly to his Commissionership, he became executive director of the Players Championship in 2008.  You may kn...