Entertainment
Why an old Jordan Spieth quote sticks with Collin Morikawa years later
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — Jordan Spieth may not physically be here this week but he definitely is in spirit … at least for Collin Morikawa.
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Join us on WhatsAppSpieth would normally be competing in the Scottish Open, held annually at Renaissance Club, but he’s home nursing his way back from a neck injury suffered at the Travelers Championship three weeks ago. But it’s oddly a quote from three years ago that comes to mind for Morikawa whenever he is playing links golf.
“Jordan talked about being creative, and I think that’s exactly what you have to be out here,” Morikawa said Thursday after an opening 68.
Now, Spieth is one of the best talkers in the game, but some fantastic links golf quote from years ago? Nothing sprang to mind for me, a media member professional press conference transcript reader and contributor.
“This was like two or three years ago,” Morikawa said after I pressed for specifics. “He was talking about just playing golf out here and it really stuck with me.”
Let it serve as a reminder that pro golfers are readers, too. They follow golf accounts on social media. People share links with them. They watch Golf Channel. Morikawa is chief among them, reading a lot — probably more than most! — about the sport within which he is a major piece. When other pros talk shop, he’s listening, hoping to glean a bit of info over here that may help over there. For Morikawa, it was 2022, on the weekend of the Scottish Open, after Spieth had just shot 66.
Morikawa had just missed the cut and was likely already up in St. Andrews when he saw it, prepping to defend his title at The Open. Spieth was asked about his great third round and, in particular, what he was trying to do with his approach on the 15th hole. Spieth said he was trying to play a “float-cutter” shot downwind, take a sizable hop and have the right pace to get near the hole. You can watch the result here. Spieth holed out for an eagle 2, his second eagle of the day.
A reporter asked Spieth after the round if it feels like he hits an “inordinate amount of crazy shots.” A downwind, spinny wedge off concrete turf that catches just enough to side-spin into the jar seemed to fit the definition of crazy.
Spieth said he wasn’t sure, but that he believed he has “a knack for just getting it in the hole however I can and some days that means ball-striking and some days that means scrambling. I think the ability to try to find a way to shoot lower scores and willing it in has some effect. Had my fair share of breaks over the years. The ones that go in with the right speed are the ones that I walk away even happier with.”
That’s all good and fair and even fun. Spieth certainly has a knack for making a decent score out of less-than-perfect days. But it was how he pivoted the convo that seemed to actually catch Morikawa’s mind.
“I think the creativity, and not just on and around the greens,” Spieth said. “There are shots here that we would not even think about playing in the States, and what I mean by that is how low you flight some shots, how much club you’re hitting. How little club you’re hitting from certain yardages is pretty uncomfortable knowing pins are on corners of greens, and sometimes it’s just a little bit hard to believe. Sometimes it’s nice to get over here on links turf and play some shots in the wind, and ahead of the Open next week.”
Now three years later, that quote still sticks with Morikawa. Or maybe just the idea of different golf. He brought it up Thursday, and even mentioned it during the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool. Being “creative” is a key to unlocking links success. Maybe that feels obvious, but it goes a bit deeper at the pro level, according to what Morikawa said in 2023. You have to be creative, sure, but you also have to know when to reign it in and not “get stupid with it.”
Rattle through the transcripts of any Scottish Open — for many Tour pros the first links golf they’ll play in many months — and you see that C-word frequently. Thursday’s first-round leader, Jake Knapp, mentioned it when talking about ball-flight trajectories. Nico Echavarria, from Colombia, is also atop the leaderboard, and mentioned it, too, saying the ground requires a different type of compression he hadn’t figured out when he missed the cut last year.
A lot of people call this stretch on the PGA Tour links season, but we may need to reframe it as the Month of Creativity. That seems to be the catch-all word for Morikawa.
“Just the word creativity,” he said, when I asked what was so special about Spieth’s thoughts. “That’s kind of how — you have to be creative out here. When you think of, ‘What is a creative golfer?’ you think of someone who works the ball, hits all the different shots and is able to control their golf ball. You have to be able to do that out here.”
Entertainment
Paige Spiranac’s surprising NFL fandom confession triggers heated debate over loyalty, authenticity, and fan culture
The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and the spotlight isn’t only on prospects and front offices. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has again found herself pulled into NFL conversation, this time for her open support of multiple teams.
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Join us on WhatsAppWith the Steelers hosting the first round, her long-standing connection to Pittsburgh has resurfaced. But it’s not just about hometown ties. Her broader fandom, which stretches beyond one franchise, continues to draw mixed reactions at a time when fan loyalty is often treated as non-negotiable.
Paige Spiranac roots for 2 NFL teams: Who are they?
Paige Spiranac has never hidden where her loyalties lie, even if they don’t fit the usual mold. She has consistently pointed to her roots while leaving space for other allegiances.
“Both my parents are from Pittsburgh so I’ve been a Steelers ..fan since the day I was born. I also love the Bills. It’s a complicated relationship…Who’s your team?” she previously asked her followers. It’s a candid admission, one that reflects personal history more than calculated fandom.
Still, the reaction has been sharp. NFL culture tends to rew ..
Entertainment
Quiet moments on the course can say a lot about what’s coming next.
Sometimes the most important work happens when nobody is really watching.
Lexi Thompson was out on the 18th green, working through her putting during a practice round ahead of the Chevron Championship in Houston.
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Join us on WhatsAppIt’s a simple scene, but it shows the kind of quiet preparation that goes into these big tournaments—getting the feel of the greens, adjusting to conditions, and building trust in every stroke.
These are the small details that can shape how a player starts when the pressure kicks in.
Entertainment
Predicting what will happen to Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson if LIV Golf collapses
It looks like LIV Golf is over.
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Join us on WhatsAppThe Saudi Public Investment Fund has reportedly decided that this league simply isn’t worth the hole it’s burning in their pocket, and they’re pulling funds at the end of 2026.
That gives them less than a year to seek new investment. While CEO Scott O’Neil seems confident, it’s going to be extremely difficult to secure funding for a league that is operating at such eye-watering losses.
So this probably pulls the curtain closed on one of the most turbulent, frustrating, confusing, and ridiculous eras in golfing history. Hopefully, we can all return to some reality after the year is over.
But there is still so much uncertainty surrounding golf’s future thanks to this. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed saw the signs early and jumped ship, but they did that with some leverage. So what on earth is going to happen to the rest of these players who didn’t take the olive branch when it was offered to them?
Feelings will be hurt, and careers will be ended. Let’s take a look.
Jon Rahm rejoins the PGA Tour
Koepka returned to the PGA Tour under the returning member program, which saw him pay $5 million to charity, accept that he’ll receive no FedEx Cup bonus money, and agree he cannot be a sponsor exemption for the 2026 signature events.
That same deal was offered to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They didn’t accept it, but a similar offer will likely be handed out to them again.
If LIV Golf folds, Rahm will not hold the same leverage as Koepka did, but he is a bigger star at this stage of his career. Make no mistake, the PGA Tour will want him back immediately.
But Rahm does risk leaving himself without any options at all. Reed didn’t come straight back to the PGA Tour, so he’s spending a year on the DP World Tour first. You’d imagine Rahm would consider doing the same, but it might not be so easy for him.
Rahm is in a feud with the DP World Tour, as the only one of eight players to reject a deal which would have seen him retain his full-time membership. If Rahm agreed to play in six DP World Tour events this year, then he could have played on both LIV Golf and the tour. He did not agree.
For now, his membership is at risk. So, will it be possible for him to spend a season on the DP World Tour like Reed? Maybe not. That makes it all the more likely that Rahm will be back on the PGA Tour the moment LIV folds.
Bryson DeChambeau does YouTube full-time
With DeChambeau, I don’t think it’s as much of a done deal that he returns to the PGA Tour. Not immediately anyway.
He’s been negotiating his contract with LIV, which expires at the end of this season. During these negotiations, he’s made it very clear that he is completely willing to step away from full-time competition and be a full-time YouTuber.
DeChambeau’s channel has over two million subscribers, so he could feasibly do that with all of the money he’s making there.
He was annoyed to see LIV move to a four-day format, so he could commit himself fully to being the content king. It would be a wild thing to do, but it’s also exactly the kind of move you could see the two-time major winner making.
He could qualify for The Open Championship and the US Open, and earn enough points there to play The Masters and the PGA Championship. It’s possible.
He does seem to live for competition, so maybe YouTube won’t quite scratch the itch, but it is on the table for DeChambeau. At least for a year until his suspension expires. Out of Rahm and DeChambeau, the American is absolutely the least likely to take a deal.
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