Rory's unexpected week

It’s the weekend! We made it.

Before we dive into the news, I thought I’d take a brief moment to introduce myself and explain my hopes, dreams, etc. for Quick Nine Golf News.

For the past six years, I’ve worked as a tech and local news reporter for major outlets like Axios, The Information, and Business Insider. I loved my time at each of these places, but I always dreamed of one day covering a lifelong passion — golf. This newsletter is my first attempt to report on a game that I love dearly.

The idea at the start is fairly simple — write tournament previews and recaps each week to help people keep up with the major storylines in professional golf. Here’s what you can expect in your inbox:

• Wednesday afternoon tournament previews

• Friday evening mid-tournament recaps

• Sunday evening full tournament recaps

Of course, I’m launching this newsletter in the final week of the PGA Tour season, so that Wednesday-Friday-Sunday schedule may vary for a bit. But with the new FedEx Cup Fall season kicking off in mid-September and the Ryder Cup just around the corner, have no fear, there will be plenty of golf to cover in no time.

My ask of you, dear reader, is to keep me honest. Tell me what you love about the newsletter, yes. But mostly, tell me what you think I should be doing more of, less of, or scrap altogether. I have a general vision for what this publication will look like (9 news items, 3x a week), but in the beginning, I’ll be playing around a bunch with format and what types of information to include. Please always feel free to hit “reply” and tell me what’s on your mind.

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So please, think of a few friends, colleagues, family members, etc. who love golf and send them a link to sign up. It would be a huge, huge help!

Alright, enough from me. Onto the news!

1. Actual vs. shadow Tour Championship leaderboards

Here’s the actual leaderboard after two rounds at East Lake:

And here’s what scores would look like without the Tour Championship’s staggered start:

2. Collin’s ‘basic setup’ changes

After shooting a career low 61 on Thursday, Collin Morikawa told reporters something had clicked for him earlier in the week, but didn’t want to give away too many details.

“We found it on Tuesday, and I'm not going to tell you,” Morikawa said. “But a lot of it has to do with just basic setup.”

In impressive fashion, the two-time major winner backed up his stellar opening round play with a six-under 64 on Friday. Morikawa, who started the week nine shots behind Scottie Scheffler, is now tied atop the leaderboard with Viktor Hovland heading into the weekend.

What to watch: Can Collin keep up the pace? Yes, he’s made up a ton of ground in two days, but it took the lowest 36-hole start ever at East Lake to do so.

• We’ll see if he comes back to earth or if he can continue this other-worldly play.

🚔 Fashion police: Just a quick thought on Collin’s polo Friday, which looked like some sort of natural stone. Maybe marble?

• Anyways, we all saw how particular he is about his dress on the Netflix series Full Swing, and I thought on Friday, such attention to detail paid off. That shirt was dope.

3. ‘Don’t pull a Rory there’

Lucas Glover recently won back-to-back tournaments. Why can’t the fifth ranked player in the world, Viktor Hovland?

After winning the BMW Championship last week, Hovland’s tied for the lead after two rounds thanks to a 68 on Thursday and 64 on Friday.

By the numbers: Hovland’s 28 on the back nine last Sunday was spectacular.

• AND, he almost fired a 29 for his closing nine on Friday before running into a bit of bad luck at the last (his drive went too far — 363 yards — which forced him to lay back on the gettable par-5 18th).

• Instead, he made par to shoot 30.

Flashback: Hovland’s lie on the 18th looked eerily similar to the one Rory had back in 2020, which… didn’t end up so well.

When asked about the decision to lay up in a post-round interview, Hovland said he told his caddie: “It's probably better just to do that so we don’t pull a Rory there. I mean, it's just so easy to do.”

What to watch: Hovland said his recent hot play has come, in large part, thanks the confidence he has in his driver. And so far this week, he’s second in the field when it comes to strokes gained off the tee, according to Data Golf.

• Basically, if Hovland keeps bombing drives and hitting fairways, he’ll be tough to beat.

4. A potentially very expensive pool party

Speaking of Rory, his week hasn’t gone to plan.

Apparently, McIlroy aggravated his lower back earlier in the week by throwing his daughter into a pool. Sky Sports reporter Wayne Riley said McIlroy didn’t think too much about the discomfort until Wednesday when his “lower back just seized up” after doing squats at the gym.

“I honestly couldn’t address the ball this time yesterday,” McIlroy said after shooting an opening round 70, which included plenty of one-armed finishes, awkward stretches, and even an ointment application from his caddie. “Hopefully tomorrow’s better than it was today.”

It was. On Friday, Rory fired a 3-under 67 to put him at -10 overall for the tournament and six shots back of the leaders.

What he’s saying: “I'm limited in what I can do, but I'm here grinding away, battling away. So happy to be through 36 holes,” Rory told reporters after his round on Friday. “Just trying to manage it and do the best I can.

Quick take: You gotta love to hear one of the best golfers in the world doing normal dad stuff, like throwing his kid into the pool.

• But with an $18 million paycheck awarded to the winner this weekend and Rory’s awesome record around East Lake, the timing of this injury is just a bummer all around.

5. Scheffler still alive

Scottie Scheffler, who started the Tour Championship with a two-shot lead, looked like he was going to walk away with this thing after starting three-under through six holes on Thursday.

• His lead at the time was 5.

Then, Scheffler made a triple on the par-3 15th — which opened the tournament door wide open.

Yes, but: The top ranked player in the world fired back with a 65 on Friday and is still very much alive.

6. Ryder Cup watch

US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson will announce his six captain’s picks next Tuesday. And so, this week’s Tour Championship is the last chance for Ryder Cup hopefuls to make their case.

As a reminder, here are the six players for sure heading to Rome for the Americans:

And here’s how those outside the automatic bids are faring this week:

Yes, but: Captain Zach’s mind might already be made up, and this week’s outcomes might not matter at all.

• Still, it’s more fun to think that they do.

Nick’s picks: FWIW, my captain’s picks, as of right now, would be… Koepka, Speith, Morikawa, Keegan, Rickie, and JT.

• Thoughts??

7. Weekend listening list 🎧

🏆 SkySports reporter Jamie Weir and CBS’ Kyle Porter joined the No Laying Up crew to talk Ryder Cup team predictions. Listen here.

🤓 The Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck sat down with the long-haired, US Amateur runner-up Neal Shipley.

• “I have a degree in quantitative finance, minors in math and economics, and a masters in data analytics,” Shipley said. “I have to play fast so I don’t overthink it.” Listen here.

💚 “Story time with Phil” — a 2.5 minute Masters story from Phil Mickelson with an incredible ending. Watch/listen here.

8. Trout National

Angel’s slugger Mike Trout is building a golf course — designed by Tiger Woods — in his hometown of Vineland, New Jersey (around 40 miles outside of Philadelphia).

What’s new: On Friday, the dynamic duo released the course layout for “Trout National - The Reserve” alongside this hype video:

What’s next: Trout National is slated to open sometime in 2025.

9. Legend of the week: JoAnne Carner

Forty-three time LPGA winner JoAnne Carner shot an eight-over par 80 in the opening round of the US Senior Women’s Open on Thursday — four shots better than her age of 84.

• After the round, she immediately hit the range.

Carner shot 87 on Friday and won’t make it to the weekend. But still, what a legend.

Thanks for reading and have an awesome weekend y’all. See you Sunday night. - Nick B.