Hello friends and happy Wednesday from Oak Hill! What started off as a slow day for me on the course yesterday turned into one of my favorite golf days of all time by the time I had dinner.
My day started off at the range, where my coworkers and I said hi to a handful of players and caddies. I’d like to take a moment here to formally apologize to every individual who politely asked me how I was, because instead of going the socially-acceptable route and just saying “good,” I used the opportunity to share my excitement over the fact that I’m heading to a Taylor Swift concert soon. Shout out to Joe LaCava for being kind enough to entertain a conversation about the Eras Tour when he truly could have been doing anything else.
Darren Riehl
For the thousands of you who are wondering who I’m wearing, my lovely sweatshirt is from Adidas’ new women’s golf line.
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ADIDAS GO-TO GOLF SWEATSHIRT
Take on those cold mornings and breezy afternoons on the course in this adidas golf sweatshirt. It has a roomy fit and it’s made of a soft cotton blend to keep you warm and comfortable from the time you tee off till the last putt. Banded sleeves ensure a stay-put feel while you swing.
After checking out the practice areas, I headed out to the course. I quickly discovered just how great the 1st tee is for people watching due to the fact that it overlaps with the 14th tee. Players from different groups got a chance to catch up before going their separate ways.
After that, I made my way to the area between the 14th green and 15th tee box, where players and their coaches tried to navigate the run-off area surrounding the green. Tony Finau and his coach, Boyd Summerhays, chipped onto the green from all different angles while three other groups played through. I’m very eager to see how the pros tackle these run-off areas once play begins.
I’ll fill you all in on the rest my time on the course yesterday below, but my day ended with a trip to Wegmans, the world-renowned supermarket that started in Rochester. My coworkers and I picked up dinner and an ice cream cake (to celebrate the PGA Championship, of course), and they even allowed me to make a silly video of our time there.
Enjoy this cinematic masterpiece, and thanks to Darren, Dylan and James for their Oscar-worthy performances.
The Bills at Oak Hill
There has been lots of chatter about the Buffalo Bills this week. We all know Josh Allen is a big golf guy — he teed it up in the American Century Championship last summer and was very excited to meet Tiger at the Genesis Invitational in March.
Rory McIlroy expressed interest in meeting Allen this week and sang his praises on Tuesday at Oak Hill.
So it would only make sense that he showed up at the PGA Championship this week, right?
Right. And lucky for the Buffalo Bills fans at Oak Hill on Tuesday, Allen was on property.
He even brought some teammates.
I don’t have word on whether Allen will be attending later in the week, but I can’t imagine he’d want to miss the final round.
Champions Dinner
There’s always a lot of chatter about the Masters Champions dinner, but what a lot of people don’t know is that there’s a PGA Champions dinner as well. And while my coworkers were hard at work on their stories in the media center on Tuesday evening, I decided to go on a stroll around the property at Oak Hill. And I’m really glad I did because I got to see the pros heading into the dinner!
First I saw Brooks Koepka, who was looking extremely sharp in his suit.
I’d say the two-time PGA champion looked like he was straight out of GQ, but his GQ photos were nothing like this.
A few minutes later, a photographer arrived and I noticed people setting up the Wanamaker trophy on the grass outside the front of the clubhouse. The pros were coming out to take a photo! I (im)patiently waited for the winners of PGA Championships past to head outside, and I felt like I was watching the cool kids in high school head to a party I wish I’d been invited to.
Please take a moment to look at this photo. We’ve got Rory McIlroy and Jay Monahan walking in stride, which kind of says a lot about the two of them if you think about it. Then we’ve got Phil Mickelson in an oversized suit, slicked-back hair and sunglasses holding a glass of wine. It looks like he’s explaining something to a somewhat jaded Collin Morikawa.
There’s so much going on in the photo that if I hadn’t taken it myself, I’d think AI created it.
Then the players took their 2023 PGA Champions dinner portrait and headed back inside.
I can’t help but wonder how their dinner measured up to the absolute feast I had from Wegmans.
Caddies!
Tuesday was a big day for the caddies at Oak Hill. Netflix star Geno Bonnalie’s popularity has skyrocketed over the last few months, and for good reason. He’s as kind as he is funny. The caddie-turned-Netflix-star added another accomplishment to his resume a few weeks ago when he became a Saxx Underwear model.
Golf fans took note. Bonnalie was the man of the hour at Oak Hill yesterday. Kids were screaming his name as he made his way from the 18th green back to the clubhouse, and he signed just as many autographs as some of the players did.
I also got to have some ice cream with Jim “Bones” Mackay at Pittsford Farms Dairy on Tuesday afternoon for the second episode of The Scoop. I’ve been lucky enough to meet so many great people through golf, and Bones has quickly become one of my very favorites. He’s an incredible storyteller, has a deep knowledge and love for the game, and is as kind as they come.
That’s all I’ve got for now, folks. I’ll leave you all with this photo of Dustin Johnson giving Paulina Gretzky a golf lesson on Tuesday evening.
Paulina Gretzky
Not only does Paulina Gretzky get to be Paulina Gretzky, she also gets to receive golf knowledge from her two-time major champion husband, who has gotten golf knowledge from the Harmon family. It must be nice to be God’s favorite.
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