An incredible comeback from a genius. And 7-foot-5 Tiger Woods?

welcome! Where are you, you ask. I call it “Weekend 9”. Think of it as a warm-up spot for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will have ideas. We will have tips. We will have tweets. But there are only nine in total, although sometimes there may be more and sometimes there may be less. As for who I am? The following paragraphs tell some of the story. You can contact me: nick.piastowski@golf.com.

We don’t know the outcome.

We don’t know what to expect.

Sports is as realistic a reality show as we have.

I like this idea. Last week, Rory McIlroy was asked to give his opinion on sports viewing following the incident at the Ryder Cup.

This quote aptly tells the story of finishing tied for tenth at an event in Western Australia.

A year ago, anyone watching Jeffrey Kwan expected this kind of ending. Or better. And at the highest level. Australians are one of the next big things. He won the Australian Junior Amateur Championship twice. In 2022, he won the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Last year, he competed in the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship on a sponsor’s exemption. He returned home shortly after the incident.

During a pro-am game in September 2024, he was hit by a ball on the left side of his face. He underwent surgery.

He lost vision in his left eye.

But he still holds out hope. And his swing.

At the end of August, Guan was playing there. He failed to advance in his first game back. But then, at the CKB WA PGA Championship in Western Australia earlier this month, Kwan finished 10th. A few days later, he posted on Instagram:

A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed I would ever play golf again, let alone play on tour. The journey back was anything but easy. Mentally, it was one of the toughest battles I’ve ever had to face. At that point, I wasn’t just injured or out of shape. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted and unsure if I would ever find my way back. Golf has always been a big part of my life, but when everything fell apart, I felt like I lost a piece of myself. Stress, frustration, self-doubt…it all builds up. There were days I couldn’t even look at my clubs. It feels like a day of victory right out of bed. I question everything. My abilities, my worth, whether I was finished for good.

But making the top ten this week has proven me wrong. I’m here. Back away. Really, very grateful.

To those who supported me when I couldn’t see a way forward, thank you. Your support, patience and trust got me through the toughest days. I really wouldn’t be here without you.

There is nothing but joy, gratitude and excitement to be back doing something I love.

Back again with a new perspective and love for gaming.

Damn it.

Realistic reality show.

Let’s see if we can find 8 more items for Weekend 9.

A takeaway from this week

2. Is Keegan Bradley the best choice to be the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain?

Or should Americans consider someone else for Bradley’s benefit?

I think you can answer “yes” to both questions after hearing his comments at this week’s Travelers Championship media day, his first appearance since captaining the U.S. in a Ryder Cup loss to Europe last month. The Associated Press’ Jimmy Goren captured Bradley’s thoughts:

– “The time between the Ryder Cup and now has been one of the hardest times of my life.”

– “This damn thing is so brutal for me. I don’t know if I want to play. No, I want to play. It’s a weird thing to love something so much and not be able to give you anything.”

– “I will always wonder and wish I had the opportunity to play there. The first practice day, I stood on the tee and looked at the guys walking down the fairway together and I said, ‘I wish I could play there. This is what it’s all about. I’m missing out.’ By the second or third day, I thought, ‘It’s a good thing I’m not playing’ because my body was so exhausted. … It’s a good thing I didn’t, because that would have been terrible. I just felt like I couldn’t do both at the same time.”

You could argue that no one is more passionate about this event than Bradley. And you need a captain. But maybe the poor man has had enough.

Still, a win would make for a great story.

A takeaway on the weekend

3. Golf’s Dylan Detier had a brilliant look at the news that the PGA Tour’s season-opening Sentinel Tournament will be canceled next year on Wednesday, noting that there’s a chance the event won’t return to Hawaii as the tour investigates how its business is run under new CEO Brian Rolapp.

If you are a professional golf consumer, you should expect your products to be reviewed from top to bottom.

A sports economist may one day write a book about the impact of LIV Golf.

weekend thoughts

4. The following post at least got me thinking.

High school that interests me

5. A high school in Georgia might have its own three-hole golf course. Fox 5 Atlanta’s Rob DiRienzo reported the story, which you can read here.

Michael Jordan videos that interest me

6. During NBC’s coverage of the NBA on Tuesday, Michael Jordan revealed that he was coaxed into shooting free throws at the house where he played a recent Ryder Cup game. He admitted he was nervous because he hadn’t touched a ball in a while, but he didn’t want to disappoint the crowd.

But is there any video of that time?

have. It started circulating on Thursday and you can watch it below.

Let’s start with what happens between the ropes.

I can only assume that as you write this, you’re giddy with the success of the Presidents Cup routine against international teams. Or maybe it was Keegan Bradley who declared, “We’re going to Bethpage to kick their ass.” Instead, the Americans were thoroughly dismantled in their own backyard through the first four games, despite a resoundingly successful American comeback on Sunday.

Every time the Ryder Cup starts, one thing always surprises me. It was the unerring confidence of Americans in predicting an American victory—or, in your case, a landslide. Although the record now shows that Europe has won 11 of the past 15 editions of the tournament, including 5 of the past 10 in the United States.

I admit, futurology can be tricky when it comes to predicting the outcome of sporting events – so let’s take a look at your predictions for the atmosphere at the event.

I wasn’t there and you were – but where do you start with this horror show? Maybe the presenter kicked off Saturday morning by encouraging the 5,000 viewers (including children) to chant: “F** you, Rory”? Or what about those other lewd comments often made during the golf swing? Or what about sending a team of state troopers to maintain order at Saturday’s McIlroy-Lowry four-ball game? This is nothing more than a small group of people indulging in a campaign of ruthless hatred and cruelty.

Did you foresee…a carnival atmosphere?

I mean, it’s got to be one of the most incorrect predictions in the history of golf, considering the evilness of what happened.

However, even in the UK it was known that Bethpage was about to be involved in a car accident. Your “carnival atmosphere” is presumably based on a landslide US victory – but do you think that will make the crowd friendly to Europe?

Now I don’t want to be holier-than-thou on this. I’m well aware that European populations are not perfect. There’s a frustrating trend here of making unpleasant comments about players. But it attracted little attention compared to what happened at Bethpage. Even when it comes to the Ryder Cup, Europe’s banter is at least rooted in creativity and humor, such as Patrick Cantlay’s “Salute to your bank account” chant in 2023.

Of course Keegan Bradley is desperately trying to invent some alternative facts about Roman “violence”. The only violence I saw was Rory being bone bound!

From a personal perspective, my lasting impression of Bethpage would be the celebration of European victory. But you know what? This is not the case. When the television directors cut to the field with thousands of American fans leaving before the game was over, golf wasn’t on my mind. The story is told of how some fans delight in throwing constant dirt on European players and their wives – yet when faced with their own adversity (i.e. a European victory), these “supporters” show their true colors, flee for the exits, and flee home as early as possible. They were the real losers – not Team USA.

Ultimately, it feels like there’s a bigger loser – the spirit of golf. Knocked down and kicked into the gutter.

Some carnival.

Let us look forward to a better Adele Manor in 2027!

Fall Golf Ideas

12. Let’s do a dozen projects! Isn’t Weekend 9 usually published on Friday? Indeed. But this Friday, I’m going on a fall golf trip. Should be a good one. golf. Golf soda. repeat.

I hope you will do the same (or have done so).