2021 has been a wild, wild year in golf.
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Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
No. Absolutely not.
In fact, as far as golf is concerned, auld acquaintance (and memory) should be celebrated — shared amongst the masses for all to enjoy.
As we reach the end of yet another rollicking golf year, we thought it only fair to recap the best, brightest and funniest from yet another year in our beloved sport. Below, find 12 memories you probably already forgot happened from 2021, from the sublime to utterly absurd.
Good tidings from your friends at GOLF.com.
January: ‘The talk amongst the boys isn’t great’
The talk at the Farmers Insurance Open in January wasn’t great. It was really, really bad, actually. Another year, another Patrick Reed victory, and another Patrick Reed rules scandal. But that relitigation will have to wait for another day.
Today’s work is to remember perhaps the finest single quote of the golf season, which came courtesy of one Xander Schauffele in the immediate aftermath of the Reed rules controversy.
“Obviously the talk amongst the boys isn’t great,” Schauffele said. “But he’s protected by the Tour and that’s all that matters, I guess.”
The quote immediately surged through the golfing internet, who found “the talk amongst the boys” could be used in pretty much any setting to share pretty much any emotion or feeling — all in good fun, of course.
Today, the talk amongst the boys is grateful, for having received such a terrific line from such a terrific player.
February: Homa’s home win
Max Homa is one of the few PGA Tour stars to claim Southern California — and more specifically, Los Angeles — as his hometown. Homa’s LA roots are deep, tied closely to the teams to which he has remained a loyal fan (Lakers and Dodgers), and even his golf hero, Tiger Woods, who grew up in nearby Orange County.
It stands to reason, then, that Homa’s February win at the Genesis Invitational served as a watershed victory. It was a perfectly fitting win for the California kid — a walkoff win, at his home course, at an event hosted by Tiger Woods — a moment he called a ‘dream come true.’
March: Bryson reaches the stratosphere
Many had theorized about the potential advantage provided by Bryson DeChambeau’s distance transformation. It seemed to carry him to victory at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in September 2020, sure, but a bigger question remained: could he change the game?
For at least a moment on Saturday afternoon at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bryson changed the game.
The moment came on the 6th hole, a 531-yard par-5 that boomerangs around a lake. For most sane players, it is a two or three-shot hole: a drive that goes right of the water, then an approach into the green.
Bryson, however, had a different idea. With his newfound length, DeChambeau reasoned that if the wind was right, he’d be capable of clearing the water, a supposed 380-yard drive.
On Saturday, he did exactly that — blasting a drive into the ether as a rowdy crowd cheered him on. Seconds after making content, Bryson thrust his fist in the air, screaming at the ball as it soared over the lake. He made eagle on the hole, and provided golf with one of its biggest touchpoint moments in 2021.
April: An unforgettable salute
The first April Masters in two years proved a welcome return to the first major on the golf calendar. The azaleas were back in bloom, Augusta National was teeming with patrons, and Alister Mackenzie’s brilliant design again regained its April teeth.
That Masters was an oddly emotional experience — the return of golf to its traditional schedule for the first time since the world flipped on its head entirely 13 months prior. And yet even as so much had changed, the ghosts of Sunday delivered a finish for the ages.
Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese-born player to don the green jacket, but it was in the seconds immediately following his victory that the tournament’s most memorable moment occurred. As Matsuyama made his way to the winner’s circle, his caddie Shota Hayafuji lagged behind. As he removed the flag from the 18th pin, he bowed in the direction of the course.
The resultant shot — captured by CBS’s cameras — is the single-most striking image of the 2021 golf season.
May: Phil? At 50?!?!
Yes, he really did that. Yes, at fifty years old. Yes, it was one of the most remarkable wins in recent memory. Yes, it made him the oldest major champion in golf history. And no, we won’t forget it any time soon.
Now enjoy this photo.
Phil Mickelson, a champion again.
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June: Rahm’s Redemption
It would be difficult to tell the story of golf in 2021 without Jon Rahm’s June. The Spaniard led by six strokes at the Memorial Tournament before a positive Covid test pulled him from competition before the final round. The positive test result was a stunning blow to Rahm, but he handled it with grace.
His next start didn’t come until the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which is where, on his first Father’s Day as a dad, Rahm completed a comeback for the ages with impossible birdies on the 71st and 72nd holes to win his first major.
‘This is the power of positive thinking’: Inside Jon Rahm’s U.S. Open redemption
July: A historic ascent
If Collin Morikawa’s first major championship came with an asterisk, his second came with an exclamation point.
Any residual doubters from Morikawa’s win at the fan-less, frill-less PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park were quickly removed when he toppled the field at the Open Championship. That the tournament was held at one of the game’s most historic tracks (Royal St. George’s) only added to the weight of his victory.
With the win, Morikawa became the youngest player since a fella named Tiger (ever heard of him?) to win two major championships, a victory ensconcing him as the game’s top young player in a loaded field of young talent.
(A special tip of the hat to Louis Oosthuizen, who managed not one, not two but three top-3 finishes at the majors in 2021.)
August: USA! USA!
It was double-trouble for the Americans in golf’s second run at the Tokyo Olympics, with both Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda taking home gold in the men’s and women’s tournaments.
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For Xander, the win marked the largest of his career to date in an event light on field depth but very heavy on sizzle. For Nelly, the win was the latest in a summer pronouncement of her status atop the women’s game — a dominant victory in what was a very loaded field.
More importantly, though, the event marked golf’s coming-out party at the Olympic Games after a very uneven start in 2016. The event proved to be a boatload of fun, even at a very unusual timeslot for American audiences, and showed that golf had a very deserving place among the finest athletes in the world. (Now, about that team-style event…)
September: ‘A new era’
Thank goodness the U.S. Ryder Cup team didn’t hire Steve Stricker as its public relations head, because he probably wouldn’t have made it through the month leading up to the tournament. The weeks leading into Whistling Straits were rife with allegations of team discord, Bryson/Brooks drama and worst of all, a growing sense that the Europeans would retain the Cup for another two years.
Once play began, though, those concerns were quickly put to bed. The Americans came out swinging and never backed down, closing out one of the biggest blowouts in Cup history, 19-9. In a welcome change of pace for the Americans, the Europeans were the team looking out of hope and out of sorts while the Americans poured it on on Sunday. The afterparty, which featured the finest custom T-shirt of the 2021 season, only underscored the tone of the week: all U.S.A., all the time.
October: Bryson reaches the stratosphere (again!)
From a distance, Bryson DeChambeau’s trip to the World Long Drive Championships was one of the strangest developments of the golf year. Up closer to the big man’s 400-yard bombs and like-minded pals, it became one of the best.
Bryson climbed into the final 8 of the competition, which was eventually won by his good friend Kyle Berkshire. But in truth, the week was never about winning at the long drive, it was about pumping oxygen into a sport in dire need of it.
In that regard, consider Bryson’s mission accomplished.
November: A GIR to remember
Jin Young Ko set the quietest golf record of all-time in November — an iron (wo)man streak that no player may ever best.
In the span of one week, Ko hit 63 consecutive Greens in Regulation. Sixty-three. For context, Tiger Woods’ best GIR streak during his historic 2000 season was 29. The only player with a streak longer than 50 in the last quarter-century was Mike Heinen, and he fell well short of 60 GIRs.
Naturally, Ko’s streak coincided with a triumphant victory at the CME Championship, but also with a streak we won’t see again any time soon.
December: The Return.
Okay, maybe you didn’t forget about this one. I mean, it literally just happened. But that doesn’t diminish its value in the slightest.
Tiger Woods returned to golf nine months after the single-car accident that very nearly took his life. He did so alongside his son, Charlie, who is quickly becoming a serious player in his own right. And he competed in such impressive fashion, he opened the door for himself to return to serious competition further down the line.
It’s been an undoubtedly good year in golf, but with Woods potentially in line for a return to major championships, 2022 could be even better.
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