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Issue No. 172 | March 20, 2025
I don’t know if you have felt the same, but the post-Players week has hit pretty hard over here. Even though I know the Masters is just a few weeks away and Valspar might give us another cool moment like we got a year ago, I’ve been bummed about the lack of world class championship golf we got last week.
Also, this is how it’s supposed to feel after monster weeks. That’s the whole point.
I go back and forth on this all the time, but I do wonder if six massive weeks — majors, Players and Ryder Cup — could, with unification and the right global schedule, actually be 10 massive weeks. The four majors, Sawgrass, Ryder Cup, Australia, Ireland, Riviera or Pebble and Africa.
As LIV has proved, it’s extremely difficult to make something seem important out of nowhere, but I think if a few things went the right way, a real Australia event could be tantamount to the Players. I am also the person who always believes Spieth or Rory can go out in 28 at ANGC and steal a jacket so perhaps not the best judge of these things.
Here are some leftover thoughts I have about the Players and where golf is at right now.
Today’s newsletter is presented by Meridian Putters.
As our own golf seasons come into focus, this would be a good time to remind you about how good Meridian is. Their mission — create high-quality putters that not only deliver exceptional performance but are also accessible at an affordable price point — coincides nicely with ours and is one I’m personally proud to promote.
I have actually given away all of my Meridians, but I’m about to put in an order for either this Kiawah or maybe the Key West, both of which I love.
When we talk about bringing on sponsors whose products we use and whose stories we love, I’m not sure anyone embodies this better than Meridian. Their story — which we will be bringing to you in an interview — is one of fate, grind and genuine care for their customers. The way a business should be run.
After hearing it, I was so psyched to bring them on but absolutely terrified that their product would be mediocre or even bad. So when I received a box in the mail with three heavy putters that felt amazing to hold and to use, I was elated.
We love Meridian’s story, and we’re happy to share it with you. They are a business fighting to thrive in a competitive market and are worthy of any attention you give them and the products they’re producing.
OK, onto my leftover thoughts.
1. After Rory won the Players, I headed over to Data Golf and looked at overall win totals since 2010. This includes majors as well as PGA Tour and European Tour events. I personally would maybe include LIV, Asian Tour and others, but DG doesn’t sort for those events just yet.
Regardless, this is how the leaderboard looks.
Rank | Player | Wins | SG |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Rory McIlroy | 37 | 2.10 |
2. | Dustin Johnson | 24 | 1.74 |
3. | Jon Rahm | 20 | 2.13 |
4. | Scottie Scheffler | 16 | 2.09 |
5. | Justin Thomas | 15 | 1.62 |
6. | Justin Rose | 15 | 1.47 |
7. | Jordan Spieth | 14 | 1.43 |
8. | Hideki Matsuyama | 13 | 1.51 |
9. | Jason Day | 13 | 1.44 |
10. | Bubba Watson | 13 | 1.17 |
There are a lot of ways to look at this.
What Rahm has done in less than a decade is insane. The fact that Scottie has almost caught him in the last three years is even crazier. DJ’s career is probably a little underrated.
But here’s another way to look at the list: The difference between Rory’s career and DJ’s career is basically Spieth’s career.
Think about that. Rory (37 wins, 4 majors, 2 Players) has more or less had DJ’s career plus Spieth’s career (38 wins, 5 majors, 0 Players).
And of those three, who do you trust more to continue winning?
Here’s what Scottie said about Rory’s level of play at TPC Sawgrass.
Not only his consistency week-to-week but year after year. I think you got a guy there that's played really well out here for about 15 years. It's very impressive, not only his week-to-week but his longevity year after year.
Scottie Scheffler | 2025 Players
Rory’s career will always feel fallow to people who don’t follow closely. [Jason here] There's a Lebron comp here about consistency over a long period. Everyone talks about 5-10 year max window, how long is Rory's window going to be when it's all said and done? [Jason out]
An example of people not following closely …
But nobody who pays attention is actually arguing that Rory should be Tiger. Instead, they’re looking at whether Rory, Rahm, Brooks (?) or Scottie (or someone else) is going to have the next high-water mark career in a post-Tiger world.
It gets lost because the Cat shadow looms large, but it shouldn’t because DJ + Spieth is truly an insane career. It’s also become difficult to not see him adding another major or more.
I have said this many times now, but the critique of Rory is not that he has failed in majors over the last five years, it’s that he didn’t even give himself a chance at them from 2015-2020. At the level he’s currently playing, another major will fall, maybe not Augusta, but he will catch Brooks at some point.
And then it will be indisputable that Rory is the best and most accomplished player in the post-Tiger era. Not Tiger, no, but still one of the all time greats.
2. Here’s the chart the haters and losers won’t show you.
Years | xWins at Majors |
|---|---|
2022-2024 | 1.01 |
2015-2021 | 0.15 |
2010-2014 | 3.19 |
xWins (this may surprise some) means expected wins based on total strokes gained during a major week. Rory got “lucky” in 2010-2014 by winning one more than his xWins total and he got unlucky from 2022-2024 by winning one fewer.
As for 2015-2021: 🤮
He had more xWins in 2010 (.06) as a 20-year-old as he did from 2018-2021 (.05). That’s not good.
3. I don’t have much in common with Max Homa. I am not famous. I am not rich. I do not possess the ability to hit cutting 210-yard shots to tucked pins (although at this point I’m not sure he does either). What we do share is this: A willingness to be earnest and honest in ways that are perhaps personally unhelpful (i.e. cringe) but nonetheless true.
Here’s what Max told a group of reporters at TPC Sawgrass on Friday after he shot 79-71 to MC.
“The way I work, I feel like I deserve to be the best player in the world at some point,” Homa said, barely breaking above a whisper, his voice breaking every few words. “I know that sounds crazy, but that's how I approach each day, is to be the best at it and I'm going the complete opposite direction.”
“I know people probably love this and some people probably hate it for me, but people like to laugh when people aren't doing well. I would laugh at that, because I just don't know what more I could be doing at the moment.”
“If my kid was going through this, and he was working this hard,” Homa said, tears beginning to well up. “I would be proud of him, so I'm (pauses) proud of myself.”
Max Homa | 2025 Players [PGATour.com]
This is so easy to make fun of.
You can close your eyes and see folks on Twitter doing their thing. It is, from one angle, the cringiest thing in the world. But like KVV’s daughter’s friend said recently …
The other day, my daughter and her friends (five teenage girls) were discussing the levels of interest certain boys had in them, and the interest (or lack of) they had in return. I learned that certain boys could be categorized as “huz” material, while others might be more of a “Hear me out.”
One of the girls mentioned a boy who was particularly cringe, a bit of a try hard, and I immediately felt a twinge of sympathy for this boy. But then my daughter’s best friend, Emerson, dropped a nugget of life wisdom that was so profound, it made me chuckle.
“Bro, to be cringe is to live free.”
KVV | GHIN and Tonic No. 30
Living as a dreamer is scary because … what if those dreams don’t come true. So living as a dreamer when you are asked about your dreams every other week must be terrifying.
But bottling that up and protecting yourself from getting hurt? It’s not a better way to live. It might feel safer and better in the moment, but it’s not. We all know that. And I respect Max a lot for living it, even when (especially when) it’s painful.
4. Following our round-by-round Players coverage and for future reference, we would love your vote and feedback on this …
This post will continue for Normal Sport members below, and includes …
A Phil take I’ve been sitting on for a while.
A good Scottie-Rory comparison.
What I love about TPC Sawgrass.
If you aren’t yet a Normal Sport member, you can sign up at the link below.
If you are, keep reading!
Welcome to the members-only portion of today’s newsletter. I hope you both enjoy it and find it to be valuable to your golf and/or personal life.
5. Speaking of Max, I dropped this poll on Twitter on Saturday and was promptly pilloried. To be fair to everyone who lit me up, it wasn’t a great poll, if only because of the wording. If I could do it over again, I wouldn’t say “most likely” because obviously Akshay is the most likely (No. 22 on Data Golf).
Regardless, I think if we revisit this poll in August (which I will of course forget to do), the answers will look a lot different. I don’t know how they’ll look different, but they will. Our perception of golfers (especially lesser known ones) changes a lot from round to round, even more so week to week and month to month.
Example: Here’s where each member of the eventual 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup team was ranked on Data Golf the week of the 2023 Players.
Scottie: 2
Wyndham: 34
Cantlay: 4
Homa: 7
Xander: 6
Brooks: 107
Jordy: 20
Morikawa: 10
Burns: 28
Rick: 31
JT: 12
Brooks went on to win Oak Hill that year and make the team. Wyndham jumped from No. 34 to a lock by winning the U.S. Open (No. 34 right now is Davis Thompson).
The point here is that Fowler and Homa are proven players — and Homa, especially, has been an amazing match play teammate — who are ranked No. 80 and No. 144 respectively.
It’s not inconceivable to think they could be at Bethpage. That was all I was getting at, although I wish I would have worded it differently than I did.
6. Let’s talk about course management. Boring, yes, but also the only way you’re going to win TPC Sawgrass. Last Thursday in Round 1, Justin Thomas hit mini driver on 18 and tried to turn it over going with the right-to-left fairway.
This is a shot that J.T. can hit. We’ve seen him hit it many times. But I wonder if it’s a shot he should hit, especially given the fact that he was coming off a double at No. 17. He went on to make triple at 18 and shoot 78, losing nine strokes (NINE!) ball striking in R1.
Let’s contrast that with the Scottie-Rory-Xander group playing 18 on Friday in Round 2.
They all hit 3 wood, all found the fairway and collectively played the hole in 1 under.
This is overly reductive, but TPC Sawgrass is a golf course where humility plays well. You do have to hit shots at some point, that’s just the reality of the situation. But there is a big difference between “I can hit this shot” and “I should hit this shot.”
This is not an anti-J.T. take. Hell, we’ve seen Rory make a hundred horrible decisions at this golf course over the years. Rather, it highlights how punishing TPC Sawgrass can be and how difficult it is to make adult decisions for 72 consecutive holes, even for — no, especially for — the best players in the world because those are the very players who actually do have the most shots.
I discussed this a bit more on the Fried Egg pod this week.
7. Two mini takes on TPC Sawgrass. I think 18 kinda rules because 1. You have a lot of options and feasibly could hit 4-5 different clubs without looking like a moron and 2. It is so uncomfortable for top players.
Rory said on Monday that the tee shot on 18 on Sunday was the one he was most concerned about.
[rips 5 wood 286 up the left side]
My second take is oldie but goodie: TPC Sawgrass should host a Ryder Cup.
If Eamon Lynch is correct that the Tour could potentially purchase the Ryder Cup, then this could in fact happen. Otherwise, no chance. But can you imagine the 15-18 stretch coming home when that event is already “mom just cussed at dad during dinner” tense?
Electric doesn’t even begin to describe it.
8. After Phil started popping off about how Scottie’s not going to win before the Ryder Cup and Joaquin Niemann is the best player since Hogan, I reheated my “I actually think Phil is still going to have the Charles Barkley career” take.
What I mean by that is that I think there’s a chance our kids will only know Phil as one of the great broadcasters ever and have no idea that he won six majors and nearly 50 times on the PGA Tour and did that one Mizzen+Main commercial. I absolutely think that’s still in play.
Of course I also think if he wants it to remain in play, he should probably stop tweeting deportation opinions and who’s to blame regarding the Gaza Strip. But if we can just rein that in, I think we’re right there.
This also made me laugh.
It feels right now like Phil has a better chance of being hired by Meet the Press than he does to do color on NBC golf broadcasts. But time heals, Phil is 54 and the playing career is all but over. Once reunification takes place, I think it would benefit everyone to get one of the great talkers in golf history in a seat with a microphone.
9. Here is a good Rory-Scottie comp re: their last 25 starts.
Rory | Scottie | |
|---|---|---|
Wins | 5 | 9 |
Major wins | 0 | 1 |
Top 5s | 14 | 14 |
Top 10s | 15 | 19 |
Top 25s | 22 | 23 |
Missed cuts | 1 | 0 |
SG | 2.33 | 3.08 |
Rory has been incredible (incredible!) and Scottie has been so much better. I think the context of what Rory is doing helps me (and hopefully others) appreciate what Scottie has done. He’s over three strokes per tournament better than Rory, who has 15 top 10s in his last 25 starts!
10. I stumbled into this post on how to read, and it is excellent.
Reading requires a lot of effort and practice. Hearing language versus reading it engages different mental processes. Reading forces you to move more slowly.
If an author explains an idea to you, the constraints of natural conversation mean that you can’t just pause for 10 minutes while you think deeply about what he or she just said and then subsequently resume the discussion.
Books enable you to do that.
Rob Henderson
I would argue that the same is true (or can be true) of newsletters!
11. I find Jamie to be brilliant, and this post is a good example of it. He looked at what percentage of Rory’s SG have been constructed from what he does off the tee.
(Stuff like this makes me wish blogging was still super popular. It would be so fun to see this as a blog post and get commentary from other people on it.)
Unsurprisingly, this number has decreased over time for Rory.
And like many have pointed out, he’s as complete as ever, which certainly raises the floor … but can it also raise the ceiling?
12. As a nice bookend to my post-Players blues, I wanted to briefly look ahead. Although not too far. I talked to one writer on Tuesday who said he got going on the Masters too early last year and, “it felt like the tournament lasted 11 months!”
Anyway, I just wanted to call out the fact that the writing in this Masters video is embarrassingly good. I’ve written videos like that before, and they are not as easy as whoever wrote that one made it look. “I’ve seen armies formed for kings,” with Palmer appearing out of the ether.
My gosh, what a line.
Thank you for reading until the end.
You’re a complete and total sicko for reading a golf newsletter that is 2,991 words long, and your support of our business is appreciated.
Issue No. 172 | March 20, 2025
I don’t know if you have felt the same, but the post-Players week has hit pretty hard over here. Even though I know the Masters is just a few weeks away and Valspar might give us another cool moment like we got a year ago, I’ve been bummed about the lack of world class championship golf we got last week.
Also, this is how it’s supposed to feel after monster weeks. That’s the whole point.
I go back and forth on this all the time, but I do wonder if six massive weeks — majors, Players and Ryder Cup — could, with unification and the right global schedule, actually be 10 massive weeks. The four majors, Sawgrass, Ryder Cup, Australia, Ireland, Riviera or Pebble and Africa.
As LIV has proved, it’s extremely difficult to make something seem important out of nowhere, but I think if a few things went the right way, a real Australia event could be tantamount to the Players. I am also the person who always believes Spieth or Rory can go out in 28 at ANGC and steal a jacket so perhaps not the best judge of these things.
Here are some leftover thoughts I have about the Players and where golf is at right now.
Today’s newsletter is presented by Meridian Putters.
As our own golf seasons come into focus, this would be a good time to remind you about how good Meridian is. Their mission — create high-quality putters that not only deliver exceptional performance but are also accessible at an affordable price point — coincides nicely with ours and is one I’m personally proud to promote.
I have actually given away all of my Meridians, but I’m about to put in an order for either this Kiawah or maybe the Key West, both of which I love.
When we talk about bringing on sponsors whose products we use and whose stories we love, I’m not sure anyone embodies this better than Meridian. Their story — which we will be bringing to you in an interview — is one of fate, grind and genuine care for their customers. The way a business should be run.
After hearing it, I was so psyched to bring them on but absolutely terrified that their product would be mediocre or even bad. So when I received a box in the mail with three heavy putters that felt amazing to hold and to use, I was elated.
We love Meridian’s story, and we’re happy to share it with you. They are a business fighting to thrive in a competitive market and are worthy of any attention you give them and the products they’re producing.
OK, onto my leftover thoughts.
1. After Rory won the Players, I headed over to Data Golf and looked at overall win totals since 2010. This includes majors as well as PGA Tour and European Tour events. I personally would maybe include LIV, Asian Tour and others, but DG doesn’t sort for those events just yet.
Regardless, this is how the leaderboard looks.
Rank | Player | Wins | SG |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Rory McIlroy | 37 | 2.10 |
2. | Dustin Johnson | 24 | 1.74 |
3. | Jon Rahm | 20 | 2.13 |
4. | Scottie Scheffler | 16 | 2.09 |
5. | Justin Thomas | 15 | 1.62 |
6. | Justin Rose | 15 | 1.47 |
7. | Jordan Spieth | 14 | 1.43 |
8. | Hideki Matsuyama | 13 | 1.51 |
9. | Jason Day | 13 | 1.44 |
10. | Bubba Watson | 13 | 1.17 |
There are a lot of ways to look at this.
What Rahm has done in less than a decade is insane. The fact that Scottie has almost caught him in the last three years is even crazier. DJ’s career is probably a little underrated.
But here’s another way to look at the list: The difference between Rory’s career and DJ’s career is basically Spieth’s career.
Think about that. Rory (37 wins, 4 majors, 2 Players) has more or less had DJ’s career plus Spieth’s career (38 wins, 5 majors, 0 Players).
And of those three, who do you trust more to continue winning?
Here’s what Scottie said about Rory’s level of play at TPC Sawgrass.
Not only his consistency week-to-week but year after year. I think you got a guy there that's played really well out here for about 15 years. It's very impressive, not only his week-to-week but his longevity year after year.
Scottie Scheffler | 2025 Players
Rory’s career will always feel fallow to people who don’t follow closely. [Jason here] There's a Lebron comp here about consistency over a long period. Everyone talks about 5-10 year max window, how long is Rory's window going to be when it's all said and done? [Jason out]
An example of people not following closely …
But nobody who pays attention is actually arguing that Rory should be Tiger. Instead, they’re looking at whether Rory, Rahm, Brooks (?) or Scottie (or someone else) is going to have the next high-water mark career in a post-Tiger world.
It gets lost because the Cat shadow looms large, but it shouldn’t because DJ + Spieth is truly an insane career. It’s also become difficult to not see him adding another major or more.
I have said this many times now, but the critique of Rory is not that he has failed in majors over the last five years, it’s that he didn’t even give himself a chance at them from 2015-2020. At the level he’s currently playing, another major will fall, maybe not Augusta, but he will catch Brooks at some point.
And then it will be indisputable that Rory is the best and most accomplished player in the post-Tiger era. Not Tiger, no, but still one of the all time greats.
2. Here’s the chart the haters and losers won’t show you.
Years | xWins at Majors |
|---|---|
2022-2024 | 1.01 |
2015-2021 | 0.15 |
2010-2014 | 3.19 |
xWins (this may surprise some) means expected wins based on total strokes gained during a major week. Rory got “lucky” in 2010-2014 by winning one more than his xWins total and he got unlucky from 2022-2024 by winning one fewer.
As for 2015-2021: 🤮
He had more xWins in 2010 (.06) as a 20-year-old as he did from 2018-2021 (.05). That’s not good.
3. I don’t have much in common with Max Homa. I am not famous. I am not rich. I do not possess the ability to hit cutting 210-yard shots to tucked pins (although at this point I’m not sure he does either). What we do share is this: A willingness to be earnest and honest in ways that are perhaps personally unhelpful (i.e. cringe) but nonetheless true.
Here’s what Max told a group of reporters at TPC Sawgrass on Friday after he shot 79-71 to MC.
“The way I work, I feel like I deserve to be the best player in the world at some point,” Homa said, barely breaking above a whisper, his voice breaking every few words. “I know that sounds crazy, but that's how I approach each day, is to be the best at it and I'm going the complete opposite direction.”
“I know people probably love this and some people probably hate it for me, but people like to laugh when people aren't doing well. I would laugh at that, because I just don't know what more I could be doing at the moment.”
“If my kid was going through this, and he was working this hard,” Homa said, tears beginning to well up. “I would be proud of him, so I'm (pauses) proud of myself.”
Max Homa | 2025 Players [PGATour.com]
This is so easy to make fun of.
You can close your eyes and see folks on Twitter doing their thing. It is, from one angle, the cringiest thing in the world. But like KVV’s daughter’s friend said recently …
The other day, my daughter and her friends (five teenage girls) were discussing the levels of interest certain boys had in them, and the interest (or lack of) they had in return. I learned that certain boys could be categorized as “huz” material, while others might be more of a “Hear me out.”
One of the girls mentioned a boy who was particularly cringe, a bit of a try hard, and I immediately felt a twinge of sympathy for this boy. But then my daughter’s best friend, Emerson, dropped a nugget of life wisdom that was so profound, it made me chuckle.
“Bro, to be cringe is to live free.”
KVV | GHIN and Tonic No. 30
Living as a dreamer is scary because … what if those dreams don’t come true. So living as a dreamer when you are asked about your dreams every other week must be terrifying.
But bottling that up and protecting yourself from getting hurt? It’s not a better way to live. It might feel safer and better in the moment, but it’s not. We all know that. And I respect Max a lot for living it, even when (especially when) it’s painful.
4. Following our round-by-round Players coverage and for future reference, we would love your vote and feedback on this …
This post will continue for Normal Sport members below, and includes …
A Phil take I’ve been sitting on for a while.
A good Scottie-Rory comparison.
What I love about TPC Sawgrass.
If you aren’t yet a Normal Sport member, you can sign up at the link below.
If you are, keep reading!
Normal Sport is supported by nearly 600 sickos. By becoming a member, you will receive the following.
• The satisfaction of helping us establish our business.
• The entirety of our behind-the-paywall major (and PLAYERS) coverage.
• First access to future merch drops.
By clicking below to join the Norman’s Army, you will have 1. A lot of explaining to do to your spouse re: your CC statement and also 2. A front row seat to the community and world we’re creating here at Normal Sport.
