From the Comish:
Jenny is closing in on Mary Jo thanks to a 2nd-place, $1.7 million payday for Shane Lowry. There is just a small $595K gap between the two!
We move to North Carolina for the 2nd major of the season, the PGA Championship.
Purse -
Musings by Jéan: [2025 Archive]
Mr. Commish,
Following the Tom Kim Debacle™ at the Byron Nelson, we hightail it to The Keystone State for a $ignature event, something called the Truist Championship. Apparently this is a one-off venue change for a tournament that would normally be played at Quail Hollow in Charlotte were it not for the fact that the PGA Championship is happening there next week. The Truist Championship is being played at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Flourtown, Pennsylvania. Cricket? Yes, cricket! (I have to admit I know nothing about the sport, and the only cricket I have ever seen being played was in an ancient American Express commercial featuring Jerry Senfeld). Dating back to 1854, the Philadelphia Cricket Club says they are one of the oldest sporting clubs in the U.S. of A. (Membership costs are not listed, which means you can be sure that I can't afford it. Then again, I would never set foot in any club with a dress code prohibiting see-through fabric, bare midriffs, tank tops, and overly revealing shorts and skirts.) But they offer more than just cricket. They also have tennis, pickleball, squash, swimming, trapshooting, and of course, golf. This place ain't exactly Bushwood Country Club. Their golf course was designed by the legendary A.W. Tillinghast, who, as Judge Smails would say, is "no slouch," so we should be in for a treat.
However, as this is a TOUR stop without provenance, I have no strong feelings about who to pick. While Pennsylvania isn't considered part of New England, it is close enough that my guy should have many fans in attendance, so I will choose him based on regional proximity. A pro since 2008, this fiery competitor and Vermont native has 7 PGA TOUR wins to his name, including the PGA Championship in 2011. A win here would almost certainly put him in the running to qualify for his own Ryder Cup team, so hopefully he will have a chance to avenge the 2012 loss and finally be able to open his suitcase. He has sort of been dabbling with a mustache that makes him look like Selleck in Magnum P.I. so we will see if he shows up sporting facial hair this week. Put your hand together for the St. John's University standout, close friend of Michael Jordan, and proud member of the Boston Common Golf TGL team, oh Captain, my Captain, Mr. Keegan Bradley!
We also have a deescalated event for those who didn't make the Truist. Welcome to the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic! It seems that ONEflight is a...private charter jet service? Who is this marketing being targeted at? It is as if the big shots at ONEflight said, "We need to reach more customers. Guys who sit on their couches on Sundays watching secondary PGA TOUR events buried at odd times on the Golf Channel are a demographic we are missing out on. Let's sponsor a golf tournament. Sure, the entire purse probably wouldn't cover the cost of chartering one of our planes, but at least we are getting our brand in front of people!" If I can't afford to join the Philadelphia Cricket Club, I sure as hell can't afford a private jet! In any case, pickings are slim, but I have a good feeling about this guy. At last week's Byron Nelson, he had a bizarre, self-reported penalty involving a setting on his rangefinder ("I will take 'Things that never happened to Bobby Jones' for $400, Ken."), therefore he is owed some good karma. From Hattiesburg, Mississippi, give it up for the University of Alabama product, a man so honest you would trust him watch your phone at the bar and know he would never use it to send a raunchy, salacious text to you boss or significant other, Mr. Davis Riley!