Rory McIlroy Attacks the Shark, Pat Perez’s Wife Delivers ‘Iconic’ Quote and LIV Golf’s Worst Contract (and Excuse) Yet | this is the loop

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we’ve long supported a rival league on the PGA Tour. Competing on the HGGA Tour for the past two decades meant giving up my dream of playing with the best players in the world, but it was too exciting an opportunity to pass up. We are governed by an iron-fisted and sometimes inflated handicap commissioner, but with only one 72-hole tournament throughout the year, we are able to spend more time with our families. And we don’t have to worry about where the (insignificant) prize money comes from because, well, it’s from our own pockets. In any case, our big annual event starts in two weeks, but there’s a LOT to get to first. Let’s do it.

Rory McIlroy: Hey, Rory, does your back hurt? You know, to carry the entire PGA Tour? Seriously, what a week for the four-time major champion, who certainly seemed to be treating the RBC Canadian Open like a major. McIlroy played, and putted, like a man possessed, shooting a 62 in the final round and providing a great counterattack to LIV Golf’s inaugural event. Oh, and then he gave the Jaw a real shot, Greg Norman, the CEO of the renegade league:

ooo baby. Things are getting irritating! However, it’s a little crazy that Rory could win a 72-hole, full-course PGA Tour event that has a lot of history and earn a third of what Charl Schwartzel earned for winning a 48-man, 54-hole exhibition that doesn’t even have a proper name. Professional golf is a bit out of control right now.

Linn Scholarship: Last week I was excited about Minjee Lee’s swing, but now I have a new swing:

So jealous of that action. Oh, and it works. Grant not only became the first female winner in DP World Tour history, but she did it in spectacular fashion. Grant claimed the Scandinavian mixed event by nine shots over Henrik Stenson and Marc Warren. NINE! And before you say, “Well, she was playing off shorter tees,” keep in mind that she was the only woman to finish in the top 10, finishing 14 strokes ahead of her closest female rival. The 22-year-old now has six world championship wins since he turned pro last summer.

LIV Golf Coverage: First things first, this is not an apples to apples comparison as LIV’s coverage (for now) was commercial-free because they don’t care about making money. That said, they showed plenty of golf shots. And his mid-round highlight packages showed even more golf shots and were timely. It was pretty action packed. And even networks that run commercials could learn a thing or two. Case in point:

If nothing else, maybe this whole LIV thing will spark a change that will make PGA Tour broadcasts a better product for fans to watch.

LIV Golf announcing: That said, it was impossible to listen to this group of bootlicking vendors. Saying things like it’s a sold-out event when the field is empty and practically everyone in attendance got free tickets, raving about a pedestrian field in a park like it’s the second coming of Augusta National, and then the last thing:

LOL. I know they pay you a lot of money, but come on. It really cheapens the product. Which is funny, because the people who run the league certainly aren’t cheap. . .

Bryson DeChambeau’s contract: A $100 million report for a guy who hasn’t made a cut this year? Interesting. Then again, this is a league where they also offered $54 million on the spot to anyone who shoots a 54. Then again, that’s literally never going to happen, at least, in a tournament, so that was a bit of a stretch. But you get the point. Money is (basically) no object. And kudos to Bryson for playing the family card even though he’s single:

Also, these guys realize that with lost sponsorships they won’t make as much as they think, right? Not that future Bryson Jr. has to worry about money.

The PGA Tour’s response: First of all, it didn’t seem necessary to wait until LIV Golf players were officially playing to send that letter. What, they weren’t going to play at the event once they got through the draft party and the practice rounds and the press conferences?

Second, the letter did not seem as harsh as it could have been, and in particular did not offer a time frame for the suspensions. Maybe that was for legal reasons, but still, not as strong as we were led to believe, especially considering it’s unclear how the four major championships will ultimately fare. And that is the key to all this. And finally, how Jay Monahan wasn’t more visible until he finally did an interview with CBS on Sunday? Your league is in trouble! Get out there and fight! Guys like Rory and JT can’t do it all.

oh boy. Do you know what time it is. Cue the music!

That’s right, it’s US Open week, folks. And in addition to the usual drama provided by the USGA setup, we’re going to have PGA Tour pros and PGA Tour dropouts mingling at The Country Club this week. It could be a real Jets-Shark(s) situation. Of course, they could all also join in their disdain for the USGA. It should be interesting!

Tournament Random Fact: The previous three US Opens held at The Country Club have all resulted in a tie break. Which means there’s a good chance we’ll see that new two-hole playoff format this year!

RANDOM BETS OF THE WEEK

—Rory will shoot a Sunday 62 to win the US Open: odds of 1,000 to 1

—Rory will shoot a Sunday 62 to finish in the top 5 at the US Open: 10-to-1 odds

—Rory will try to get a LIV Golf player into a locker this week: 2-to-1 odds

I wasn’t kidding about someone possibly being stuffed into a locker at The Country Club. Those things are spacious!

Wild times, man. Of course, Alan probably didn’t mind too much considering Phil’s book of his had just come out. Norman only helped him sell a few more copies.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (GOLF DIVISION)

This is great from Tony Finau as he headed to play in the final group on Sunday. You can’t be lazier.

Of course, all I hear is: “Tony Finau! Where will he be now?!”

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (CELEBRITY GOLFERS DIVISION)

Jayson Tatum is VERY high up in my book. Even if his FG percentage in the NBA Finals is very low.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC SHOW OF CARIÑO (GOLFERS DIVISION)

I love this from Thongchai Jaidee after claiming his first PGA Tour Champions title:

He is very high up in my book too.

THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC SHOW OF CARIÑO (WAGS DIVISION)

Pat Perez’s wife, Ashley, posted a video attacking Instagram haterz and praising her husband’s decision ($10 million) to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf:

That’s an instant classic right there. Also, it’s bad enough that the PGA Tour is losing some of its best players, but now it’s also losing some of its most entertaining WAGs? Brutal.

“Global gaming GDP is increasing.”—Bryson DeChambeau with a new twist on an old favorite. Always an innovator!

Congratulations to Brooke Henderson for winning her 11th career LPGA title at the ShopRite Classic thanks to an eagle that went off on the first hole of the playoffs.

Oh Canada! . . . Congratulations to the US for winning the Curtis Cup with a score of 15.5 to 4.5. I heard the Curtis Cup media day fight was more competitive. . . . Justin Rose became the first player on the PGA Tour to shoot 60 while bogeying the final hole. I guess he would have felt better shooting 61.. . . Read this article by Max Adler on Casey Martin. Why? Because he is very good. . . . And speaking of good, these cookies are also very good:

Good enough to give my beloved Costco cookies a run for their money. That’s good.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO WEIGHT

Do I have a problem with chocolate chip cookies?

Who will be the next PGA Tour quitter?

Is YouTube interested in streaming the 2022 HGGA Championship?