Around the Clubhouse
Welcome to your place for all the light-hearted PGA TOUR content you need. We will be going around the clubhouse, reacting to many of the viral golf moments of the past week. From pro golf to your horrific swing, if it makes you laugh, then it may show up. This week we look into one strange moment from the 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta Vallarta and talk about what golfers you would dream of partying with. Stay tuned for a new segment as well. Grab your beer, and let's get into it.
Mexico Open Bee attack
Buzz buzz buzz. I was watching this live at the Mexico Open with the volume off and thought there was a shooter. Thankfully that was not the case, but seeing PGA golfers laying on the ground is quite a scene.
Didn't know stop drop and roll applies to bee attacks, but glad to hear there were no injuries during the bee apocalypse.
Erik Van Rooyen on his hands and knees is definitely the strangest thing that came from golf this week! We really need to protect the greatest mustache in golf.
Curious if laying on the ground actually helps. Any beekeepers, please let me know for future attacks.
Erik Van Rooyen following his round at the Mexico Open
“I just saw them here and I just told my caddie, I'm like, ‘Bees, bees, bees,’ and he looks at me like I'm crazy. So, I dropped down, then he sees them, he dropped down."
What PGA golfer would be most fun to hang out with?
If you got to party with one golfer for a day, who would you pick? There are a few that I think would be up there on most lists, but one stands alone.
John 'Wild Thing' Daly
To me, he is the clear number one draft pick. It would be so entertaining to just sit back and watch him be John Daly for a day.
John has used beer cans and even people's mouths as tees to drive off. The video of him fully committing to the belly flop is electric. The bench looks like it's been there since 1920, so I'm not sure if the more impressive thing is the dive or the fact that the bench is still standing after that.
Finally, I don't think there's a better picture in golf than when Long John had just won the British Open and is hugging his wife, as a naked guy runs past him. The "19th Hole" photo is probably the best piece of golf media from the 90's.
Obviously, there have been some addiction issues with Daly and he has spoke about that. The sad truth is he has struggled with addiction nearly his entire life. I hope he gets all of the help he needs, but man it would be a spectacle to hang out with him.
Chillin With The Golf Boys
This is more of a throwback and I'm not sure about how people are gonna feel about it. Ben Crane, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, and Hunter Mahan make up the "Golf Boys".
This came out over ten years ago, but I think it still stands up. I wouldn't necessarily say that these guys are the funniest in the world, but the quirkiness and stupid stuff they do when they are together would be hilarious.
The chemistry with these four, especially at the time of putting these videos out, seems like it is at an all-time high. Just a bunch of dudes being dudes and I love it.
And how could you not love Rickie? Just watching him interact with fans and other players makes me love the guy. Specifically hanging with him would be such a fun day, but with the whole group together, it would be that times 100.
Check out the golf boys other music video
"Hey, we’re boring, right? We’re golfers. We take forever to play golf. What can we do to show a different side of us?"
-Bubba Watson
The Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth Friendship
The boys are back!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 19, 2023
SB2K23. pic.twitter.com/egTrUBYzMT
Jordan, JT, Smylie Kaufman, and once again Rickie... What a group of guys this is.
Many years of spring break photos with these guys and their wives have come out. A day with them would be electric.
We got a peak of the relationship between Spieth and JT during Full Swing, but I really want to know what they are like when they are just hanging out. What is the relationship like when they have no care in the world about what is going on at the course?
The compilation of the SB2k17 moments is a great representation of what a day with these boys would be like. Chillin on boats and beaches, joking around and loving life with your friends.
What a shirt on Rick, by the way. Not sure where he got that, but their business should be booming. Imagine the amount of shizhousery going on in this group constantly.
JT too is just such a likable dude. He has moments of begging for the ball to go and laying on the ground pissed off screaming about how bad he is at golf too. He's a regular golfer just like us, but turn that into one of the best players on tour.
What are the worst conditions to golf in?
There's nothing worse than when you start a round and it's beautiful out... then Mother Nature decides to kick you straight in the nuts.
To me, the worst conditions to play in are when it is both pouring and cold. Swinging with wet clubs not only makes the difficult game of golf practically impossible, but it is also just not fun.
If it's warm out and raining at least you aren't losing feeling in your fingers. The cold mixed with sitting in soaking wet clothes and having your stomach become fully present in your white polo- Now that is a recipe for disaster. But with that said, I'm a college kid... if I paid for that round you know damn sure I'm playing through it and in Michigan I have days like that about twice a week.
The wind is a way to get extremely angry when golfing, but at least you can just aim 60 yards right and maybe it will end up in the fairway. Hey sometimes we gotta do that when we can't stop slicing the damn ball too!
Some comments on social media said hot weather is the worst, but I can't agree with that. If it's 125º then ok, but just dump some water on your head or take a dip in the alligator filled pond to cool off.
Young Golfer to Root for This Week
Akshay Bhatia
One of my favorite things to do is find young or even older guys that are new to the tour and start rooting for them. I decided to add a section to this article with one lesser-known stud each week who I am keeping an eye on and rooting for to make his mark on the tour.
This week the Wells Fargo Championship is an elevated event so the field is very strong. That is a great thing for golf fans because we will get to watch most of the best golfers in the world play, but it made it tough to find someone a bit under the radar.
The player I chose this week has begun breaking into the scene this year at age 21. The youngster earned special temporary membership and has made the most of it thus far.
His best finish is second in Puerto Rico and the LA native got 4th last week at the Mexico Open, while playing his final round alongside Jon Rahm and Tony Finau. That alone should show you something.
Akshay Bhatia is the man of the week. He has the swag, he has the flow, and he absolutely has the game.
I first learned about Akshay when he won a Korn Ferry event with his girlfriend on the bag. He was only 19 at the time. How does that work? Imagine if they got into it that morning because he threw all his clothes on the floor or he left the toilet seat up... Does that make her tell him the putt breaks two feet instead of one? Either way it worked as he took home the trophy and started BOOMING on social media.
The best part of it all is how the two met. Akshay slid into her DMs out of nowhere and look where they are now. She knew nothing about golf at the time they met, but still managed to assist her boyfriend to his first ever win. Rizz king.
Akshay is a dude who is super fun to watch because he obviously is a beast of a golfer, but he just looks like someone who is so much fun to be around.
Also name another golfer that has played a shot shirtless. You will see guys take off their shoes and socks and maybe even play a shot in their tighty-whities when they are by the water. Shirtless though is one that only peak dudes like Akshay can do. My guy looks like he is shooting a movie.
Coming off a fantastic showing at the Mexico Open, AB is likely going to be a really popular name in both betting and DFS, but whether I play him or not, I can't wait to watch him smash some balls and look awesome doing it.
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Meet the Author:
Jack Latterman
Jack is a Sports Journalism student at Michigan State. Jack’s a massive sports fan, but specifically obsessed with all things golf. Hailing from Chicago, Jack loves playing golf when the weather permits, but weekly enjoys the Friday cut sweat to kick off his weekend.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and commentary in this post belong to its author and do not necessarily represent the Tour Junkies as a whole.