. Since then, the phenomenon has caught fever in the golf world, but along the way, the definition of what is #TourSauce has been blurred to the point where it is in danger of it losing its identity. In trying to repair the #TourSauce brand, I will periodically check in with some updates from around the world in the sauce. If you’re still struggling with the definition, 

 and read through the series. In summary, #TourSauce is a series of things that only make sense to be doing if you are a PGA Tour pro.

Tour pros spray sauce all of the time. What we like to point out are the truly unique and hilarious occurrences of the sauce. A quick search of the hashtag on twitter gives us the following for this week.

Bones shielding Phil's Callaway from the precipitation!! 

J-Day throwing on the sponsor watch in time for the interview:

Rory with the twirl, and the divot tap that does absolutely nothing:

The old divot tap after taking a foot of turf. 

An example of the sauce from a Web.com player this week:

 was achieved today by someone on the Web Tour. I'm so proud. 

The Mackenzie Tour is getting in on the action and teaching some lessons:

 101: Recognize the 'tators, take out the putter to fix the ball mark.



Nicely done, 

Willett with a truly special Premature Tee Grab (ignore the typo):

Good lord, the tee is in Willet's hand before the Baba-Booey! 

 this weekend.



Reminder: He doesn't want to see your 

Walker gets the club in the back before the ball has even landed:

 handing his driver to his caddie before his ball landed. 

 hit top golf VB with a fore right and one hand sauce 

 looking back at point of impact without the club 

Always love when the volunteers get in on the action:

Bubba helping the marshalls out as Sergio refuses to:

 a good pairing is there to help, good job Bubba 

Buddy of mine runs into Scott Langley at the airport reading NLU. Sauce sprayed at the airport:

A few of these could be in the running to make the final 16 for the annual Saucies, to be held this fall. For last year’s contenders, 

#TourSauce Roundup for PGA Championship Week

After speaking with Soly, Tron, Randy, and myself individually in late June and early July, freelance writer Dillon Friday published a 

 on the genesis and growth of No Laying Up for 

. I enjoyed my conversation with Dillon and discussing with him the origins of the NLU ‘tweet machine,’ the blog, our favorite phrases (read: #Ejected, #LPCP), and famous concepts (#TourSauce, #PrayForTedScott). Dillon’s piece highlights the unique voice and skills each founder has brought to No Laying Up and the passion all four of us have for the sport of golf and No Laying Up’s ethos two plus years since inception. The results of this collective effort have me excited about what the future holds for No Laying Up as we continue investing our time and energy into creating content and merchandise for this #SmallShop (and yes, that future includes more hats and actual ‘golf’ apparel in the NLU 

I know I speak for the rest of the gang when I say thank you to Dillon for taking the time to profile No Laying Up and supporting our efforts to make golf and golf spectating more enjoyable and less stuffy. You can follow Dillon Friday on Twitter 

The homies at USGolfTV.com even hooked up some profile cards of the founding foursome below. If you have any questions for NLU or just want to make fun of our pictures wearing NLU gear in exotic locations, leave a comment below or email us at nolayingup@gmail.com.

A Window into No Laying Up

We’ve been slacking on previews lately due to some real life complications, but we’re back with everyone’s favorite the final major championship of the year. In addition to the below, we have two preview podcasts this week. The first is a 

deep dive statistical analysis with Jake Nichols, along with D.J. Piehowski from Skratch TV

Shane Bacon as we draft our teams for our traditional major championship bet

We knew this crazy stretch of three major championship trophies to be handed out in the span of 45 days (and two in 15 days) was coming, but the reality of major championship season being over come Sunday evening is just now starting to hit me. My blood isn’t pumping as hard for the Olympics as I had hoped it would, and the tide has been seemingly turning against the US Ryder Cup team over the course of this summer, so I’m left to wonder if this smoking hot weekend in New Jersey isn’t really “Glory’s Last Shot.”

The fact that the PGA Championship thinks that they need a catchphrase or a label for the event automatically solidifies its place as the least prestigious and least glorifying major, but at no point does this tournament 

 feel like a major (insert Shaun Micheel joke here). In reality, it has given us some of the most memorable and exciting duels over the last pair of decades. Just look at the last fifteen years:

1999: Tiger and Sergio’s duel at Medinah before they hated each other

2001: David Toms’ sickening lay up on 18 at Atlanta Athletic Club and 1 shot win over Phil

2002: Rich Beem holds off a charging Tiger Woods who birdies his last four holes

2003: Shaun Micheel stuffs it to inches on 18 to beat Chad Campbell

2004: Vijay wins in a playoff and everyone pretends it never happened

2005: Phil birdies the 18th here at Baltusrol to win his second major (after tapping the Jack Nicklaus plaque from 267 yards out before hitting his approach in true FIGJAM fashion)

2006: Tiger holds off Shaun Micheel at Medinah

2007: Tiger beats Woody Austin by two at Southern Hills (man, golf was weird 9 years ago)

2008: Padraig Harrington wins by two, but no one noticed because Tiger wasn’t playing

2009: Y.E. Yang beat Tiger by 3, as Big Cat limped home with a 75 on Sunday. Yang went on to military press his staff bag over his head

2010: Bubba collapses in epic fashion (#PrayForTedScott) in a playoff and loses to Martin Kaymer (this event best remembered for DJ grounding his club in the bunker on 18)

2011: Keegan Bradley edges Jason Dufner (two near no names at the time) in a thrilling playoff

2012: Rory blows the field away on Sunday and wins by 8

2013: Jason Dufner beats Jim Furyk by 2 which broke the hearts of TENS of Furyk fans all over the globe.

2014: Rory outduels Phil and Rickie in a wild finish in the dark

2015: Jason Day breaks a major championship scoring record, shoots -20 to keep Jordan from winning 3 of 4

There are some less than memorable results mixed in there, but no other major has provided the drama that the PGA has in this century. I saw a journalist that I won’t name suggest this week that the PGA Championship should be played in Asia to #GrowTheGame. Yes, yes, I’m sure the Professional Golfers Association of 

 that runs the event would gladly move it 10,000 miles away to fit your fire take! If you’ve got an idea on how to “fix” the PGA Championship, you’re already doing it wrong. The formula of assembling a fantastic field, some very solid (and not tricked up) golf courses that typically provide adequate challenges, mixing in the feel good club pro stories, and setting up the courses on the easy side to provide fantastic drama is working just fine.

As mentioned several times on the podcast, I don’t know all that much about Baltusrol. I talked with a couple players this week about the course, and the consistent message was that it is “right there in front of you,” and is not the type of course you need to play a bunch of times in preparation. It’s a par 70 layout, with no par-5’s until the final two holes, with the 17th being measured at 649 yards. I agree with what Shane Bacon told me, in that I hope they move the tees up on 17 at least one of the days so these guys can have a go at the green. I’m yet to find a good par-5 that plays over 600 yards, and most certainly haven’t seen one that tops out at six-fiddy. It just seems like unnecessary protection of scores. Per my discussion with Jake Nichols, he mentioned that there are several holes in that “par 4.5” category this week. While I’m a strong advocate for the fact that the par of a hole does not matter, I do believe that the par 3.5 and par 4.5 holes are usually some of the best holes in golf.

Overall, I like the way that the PGA of America doesn’t draw a lot of attention to the golf course, and let’s it play as the setting for the drama.

The first thing that comes to mind for me when I hear the words New Jersey is Fred Armisen doing his impression of David Patterson on Saturday Night Live.

Whenever there’s an event in the Northeast, the attention automatically gets put directly on the shoulders of the People’s Champ. I have no idea why the N’Easterners love the swashbuckling, audacious Southern Californian, but it’s one of those things I don’t bother asking about, and just enjoy it. There was a video on Snapchat this week from Callaway that showed Phil arriving at the autograph area after his round to an overwhelming welcome and ovation it gave me a little bit of the chills. Fans in this area have a reputation for being harassing boo birds (RIP Sergio), and there will for sure be more than a fair share of shenanigans from the galleries this week. But if Phil does his thing, you may not be able to hear it over the roars for their one true king. They tried to will him to victory in the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage, and you can guarantee if he’s in the running this week, the noise is going to be so loud that Bubba is going to be backing off shots from the other side of the course.

I’m so conflicted here. So far in 2016, I have stuck with the major predictions I made in 

, and it has treated me well. A heartbreaking T2 at Augusta for Spieth, a win for DJ at Oakmont, and a T5 for Rory (although a mile back, and did not compete for the title) makes me want to trust my instincts, and stay with my Koepka pick. But if the torn ligament in his ankle was so bad that it kept him out of the Open Championship just two weeks ago, I have a hard time believing that a pulled a full Tiger, popped it back into place, and healed himself in that time. If he somehow goes onto win this, I’m not going to be able to live with myself. I apologized to him profusely on the Bacon podcast, but was blessed with Shane’s permission to veer off from this pick, and go with my gut….

Bold! Out on a limb and choosing the favorite (per Sportsbook) to win his second major of the season. No one is playing better golf than he is right now, he’s going to be hitting from 340 yards down the middle of every fairway, and he’s quietly having his best putting season ever. Tron predicted in 2015 that DJ would win the US Open and the PGA, and he was just off by one year. (Also, photoshopping the Wannamaker into this picture proved to be too tall of a task).

Haven’t done a mailbag in forever, and got a bunch of good questions. If I didn’t get to yours, we also answered a bunch of them on both of the podcasts linked above.

 so terrible



— Jeff Meyers (@jeffmeyers_) 

It hasn’t even started yet and we’re complaining! Jeff, I’m actually so confident that CBS’ coverage of this weekend is going to be so terrible that I’m ready to start going in on them already. So thank you for the open invite to join you in the rally against the TV networks.

I didn’t catch much of the RBC Canadian Open, but what I saw on Sunday was absolutely appalling. Usually when I watch golf, I have the US broadcast going on my iPad, but I also have a Dutch channel on my TV on mute, as the broadcast is usually in Dutch. When the US network goes to commercial, the Dutch channel switches over to the international PGA Tour broadcast, and drops in on a ton of other players in the mean time. Because of this, the commercial breaks seem less painful and much less noticeable.

I was stuck in a hotel in Germany on Sunday night with only the option to watch the CBS broadcast, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I was close to just turning it off. It was an absolute disgrace. If I had rewind capabilities, I would have gone back and counted the number of commercials compared to the number of shots shown, as I’m confident the ratio was greater than one. Zero rhythm to the broadcast and absolutely critical shots not being shown (Martin Laird needed a birdie at the par-5 18th to get into a playoff, and they didn’t even show his tee shot, and showed his 2nd on tape delay). The same old weekly narrative shtick. We don’t ask for much. We just want live golf. Last year, they didn’t show Koekpa (who ended up in the top-5) until a tape delayed shot on 16. Be prepared for another infuriating weekend, as they have apparently learned nothing from 

Six hours of live golf on Thursday and Friday with eight hours on Saturday and Sunday of course looks modest compared to what the Golf Channel and NBC gave us at the Open, but they supplement it with featured group coverage online. For me, the feature groups are going to be what I care about in the early mornings of the first two days of an event anyways, and the coverage is usually much better than the commercial and narrative driven television broadcasts. What’s going to be the worst is when the championship is being decided on Sunday, and we get Nantz saying “this was earlier” as they come back from six commercial breaks in the last thirty minutes.

 how long before the Players officially matters more than the PGA



— Matt Gallegos (@Mgallegos_8) 

Not in my lifetime. I’ve got three decades worth of excellent memories of the PGA Championship, and don’t understand it being the sometimes called the runt of the litter. Sure it’s the least prestigious of the three, but it has it’s own special place as the cap to major championship season.

 also, I NEED a Ryder Cup team projection this week. This isn't a choice. *please*



— Nelson Hunstad (@Hunny_Hunstad) 

Gotta wait one week on this. With double points available for the last time this year, it wouldn’t make sense to project the team until next Monday. After that, we’ll have months to break down this silly little three day event that we all obsess over, and you’ll get more than enough coverage from me on who I think should be on that team.

That being said, I’ll be paying a lot of attention come Sunday on those guys trying to Kuch their way in the backdoor for those double points.

 I've saved Rory all season in my one and done league for this week. Any reason why I should hesitate to use him?



— Bert Brantley (@bertbrantley) 

None at all. I think the course sets up great for him, and I would be really shocked to see him finish outside of the top-10 this week.

 – which life do you choose if you have to go back and live the last 20 years as Big Cat or People's champ- on & off golf course



— PSteelman (@ptwitt88_p) 

This is a fantastic question, and I talked about this with Bacon. He went Tiger, and I went Phil. If we’re talking straight golf careers, Tiger is the easy answer. But if I’m choosing between their lives, and can avoid the last seven-eight years of embarrassment that Cat has had to go through in horribly public fashion, I think I would take the happy marriage, three kids, five majors, and the label as the People’s Champ over years on my couch playing Call of Duty.

 the dumb “what’s wrong with Rory” narrative this week with an excellent Fire Joe Morgan style takedown of a Golf Channel “doctor” that tried to evaluate Rory’s psyche. It’s a pretty bad crash and burn.

Phil is a popular pick this weekend for many reasons, but it seems a bit too convenient for me. Yes, he won here eleven years ago, and put together what Jake Nichols called the fifth best performance in major championship history at the Open Championship, but rarely does Phil do what he’s expected to do. And this week, he’s expected to play well. (Also, please note that I am burying this at the bottom in hopes that no one reads this.)

If you haven’t made your way over to the 

 in awhile, I strongly suggest you do. Neil has done a fantastic job keeping it updated with new gear, and I swear we wouldn’t be pushing it as hard as we have if we didn’t believe in it. Don’t wait too long to order your Ryder Cup themed shirts. Plus, who doesn’t love rocking some stars and stripes on any occasion? Your support for the site, which is still ad free, is very much appreciated, and you get some truly excellent merchandise out of it.

Enjoy the week and catch us on twitter during coverage 

2016 PGA Championship Preview

After promising myself I would do this kind of stuff all the time, and making exactly one golf trip since moving abroad almost two years ago, I jumped a flight from Amsterdam to Dublin for a weekend ball striking extravaganza at some of the best courses the east coast of Ireland has to offer for my first ever experience with Irish golf. My buddy 

 picked me up at the airport, and we drove directly to 

my review of The Island Club here in Part I

). After some pizza, whiskey, and a few hours sleep, we were off for more incredible golf at The K Club (

). A quick pint and some lunch were had at the clubhouse, and then it was off to 

our review of all four courses in podcast form here

To quickly give you an idea as to how highly thought of this course is, take a look at who was spotted on the grounds just a week before the Open Championship:





— Laurent Verdiere (@LaurentParisPro) 

After we finished our final round of the trip, I was asked by the professional in the golf shop at Killeen Castle how I would rank the four courses we played. I obviously refused the question, as the courses really are impossible to compare to each other due to their contrasting styles, the different conditions we played them in, and the success (or lack thereof) of my game on that day. But if I absolutely had to choose one of these courses as my favorite, I would be hard pressed not to choose Portmarnock.

This was our second links experience on the trip, yet completely different from the style of play at the Island Golf Club. Gone are the high dunes that frame each hole, and ushered in are resplendent views of the sea, and other nearby challenging holes awaiting you. The dunes at the Island did not shield your ball from the wind, but they did shield your body a bit from time to time. No such luxury is afforded at Portmarnock, and on this sunny Saturday afternoon, if your scorecard flew out of your pocket, it was likely to be gone.

It’s hard to describe a lot of the holes and the shots played without a bit of visualization, so see below for an aerial image taken from their website, with some rough drawings on top of what I’m trying to show. No one likes the guy that tells you about every shot of his round, as even the best actors can’t feign enough interest in the play-by-play. I’m not going to pretend that you care about my actual shot-by-shot, but I do want to tell the story of a few holes to hopefully give you an idea as to what it is like to try to piece the puzzle together on these links courses, and to illustrate how much thinking has to go into every shot, as I do think that is absolutely essential to describing this golf experience.

On this day, the wind eased you in by remaining at our backs for the first three holes, which appeared to be rather straightforward par-4’s on the card. I tried to cut the corner at the 380 yard first and drive the green, but barely tugged it too far left, and held up in the long stuff about 60 yards short of the green. Barry grabbed a 3-iron, stung one down the fairway, and watched it roll….. and roll….. and roll. It ended up about even with where I hit my (busted) drive, and his Game Golf app later told him he hit that 3-iron 308 yards. This emphasized the influence the wind had on the ball (even on the ground), the firmness of the fairways, the importance of finding the short grass, and the risk you run of not being able to stop the ball once it’s on the short stuff.

I talked a bit about this on the podcast with Barry, but one hole that sticks out in my mind is probably one that wouldn’t be one of the first ones to come to someone’s mind who has played the course, and that’s the third (see the top right of the image below). What is cut out of the picture is that there is a hazard that frames the right side of the hole. It’s a short hole, and with the wind coming off our backs and from the left, the hazard is pretty much all you can think about. In the past, when I’m not taking driver off the tee, I reach for a 3-iron and either punch one out low, or take a normal full swing. I learned the lesson last year at Carnoustie that with a wind at your back on a links course, I reached for a 3-iron to play short of a burn (I know what you’re thinking, but save it…. driver was not an option). My caddie stopped me, and handed me a 6-iron. I was flabbergasted. I hit the 6-iron, and it rolled out 235 yards, just short of the burn that came in at 240 (there was no more questioning of Ian’s club choices the rest of the way).

On this third tee, I thought back to that exact hole, resisted the urge to pull the 3-iron stinger, and instead opted for a baby 5-iron. It rode the wind just enough, rolled out once it landed, but not too much to reach the hazard, leaving only a wedge into the green. What seemed like a rather innocuous tee shot was extremely rewarding, as I honestly felt like I had learned something from previous experience.

However, for every good decision I made, I typically offset it with a poor one. The 9th hole played straight back into the wind, and the 400-ish yard par-4 was pretty much unreachable, as my well struck 3-iron from 180 fell embarrassingly short of the green. After taking that punishment, I figured it was time to take advantage of the wind being at my back on the 350 yard 10th. I of course reached for the driver, hung one out the right, and ended up just short of pin high in the high stuff. I looked at the remaining shot I had left, easily under 60 yards, and already knew that I was probably going to make a 5 at best. It turns out that you absolutely can not approach this green from the right, as it looks like a Donald Ross green multiplied by three. If I carried a wedge all the way onto the table top surface, it was going to go long. If I tried to run one into the bank, it was likely going to come back down the huge slope (it did). And so did my next putt. Then my next putt went off the green long. One simple mistake, and the price was paid. Double bogey.

Another key factor that I loved about Portmarnock was the rough. It was long and wispy, but you could find your ball every single time. It was punishing, but not automatic-wedge-out punishing. You couldn’t get a 5-iron on a ball from it, but you could hit the green with an 8-iron if you needed to. This meant we spent minimal time looking for balls, yet the course still demanded accuracy off the tee. It’s just a fantastic golf experience that would have to be in my top-10 courses that I’ve ever played.

As was the theme for the weekend, we headed inside the clubhouse for a cold Guinness. Similar to our experience at the K Club, I could have spent at least an hour in that clubhouse just looking at the pictures and the plaques. The names that have walked these grounds include, but are not limited to Phil Mickelson, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Rory McIlroy, and many, many more. The dining room and bar are upstairs, and include a 180 view of the golf course that beat us up over the last three and a half hours. I will leave you with this quote from Padraig Harrington, regarding his experience at the fantastic Portmarnock Golf Club:

“Portmarnock is the fairest links I have ever played, which is unusual because links golf by its very nature can be unfair. It is almost perfectly balanced in that it is both challenging and demanding for every level of golfer…..as stern an exam as a professional could wish for from the back tees, and an equally strict test for the more modest player off the medal tees. ”

Do yourself a favor and click through the 

. Thanks to the folks at Portmarnock for having us out for a truly memorable experience!

Dublin, Ireland Golf Trip, Part III: Portmarnock Golf Club

You won’t often find posts on this website calling for your help, but this case is certainly an exception. Justin and Dawn Rezkalla live in Powell, Ohio, and have been friends of mine and my family’s for the better part of two decades. Justin and my dad used to be co-workers, and despite their 16 year age difference, became the best of golf buddies, often times inviting me to join in whenever I was in town. Eventually, Justin and I ended up developing a friendship with our own tee times, laps around the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, and stories and inside jokes about Bubba Watson and Steven Bowditch. Justin himself is one of the finest purveyors of #TourSauce on the entire planet. In fact, he hands down won the 2014 #TourSauce contest by having his entire family run out onto the green to celebrate his member-guest championship:

In the video, you can hear his son Alex exclaiming “YAY DAD” and “YOU WIN!” over and over (

click here for the more complete, and full version of the video

….. seriously, watch it simply to see how excited Alex is). I don’t know Alex well, but this little kid is absolutely hilarious. Back in December 2015, our families met up for pizza, and Alex came in proudly wearing his new BB8 Star Wars t-shirt. He and Justin had just seen the movie, and he was all excited about. I talked to him about the movie, just making small talk with a 4-year old, and asked if R2D2 was in the movie (I had not seen it yet). He replied saying, “yeah but he’s asleep.” I didn’t think much of it at the time, but when I saw the movie about a week later, I thought back to Alex telling me that, and couldn’t help but laugh. He was exactly right! What he lacks in spoiler warning, he makes up for in Star Wars passion.

Another funny Star Wars related story comes directly from Dawn’s Facebook page:

This bit of background can’t fully illustrate the relationship between our two families, and the kindness that Justin and Dawn have shown to our family for almost 20 years. Regardless of my ability to describe that, I think you can understand how heartbroken we were to hear this news almost a year ago. Dawn tells the story best in some of what she has written to the US FDA and elsewhere…

August 17, 2015 will be a day that I will never forget. It was on that morning, nearly a year ago, that we first learned our four year old son, Alex, likely had some form of muscular dystrophy. Time really did stand still as one phone call altered our family’s path forever. We immediately became card-carrying members in an exclusive club, but not the club anyone aspires to join. This club’s members are randomly selected by nature and suddenly find themselves and their loved ones hand-cuffed into finding a place in their hearts and minds for the cruel and unusual punishment that follows. In life, there are good days and bad days. On this journey, each day forward leads to more muscle decline. Without treatment, each day is worse than the previous.



Our journey to diagnosis began four weeks earlier. Alex was not growing at the pace of his peers. He was routinely mistaken as one year younger than his chronological age due to his short stature. Alex wasn’t able to jump, ride a bike, run with a full gait, or walk up stair steps independently. Mother’s intuition told me to seek answers.



Through a series of tests, we learned Alex had low growth hormone and elevated enzymes found in the liver. We completed four more lab draws for liver diseases, all with negative results. A specialist ordered one last test to measure Alex’s muscle function before scheduling a liver MRI. Those same elevated enzymes were also in muscle. However, with the rarity of muscular dystrophy, this was presumed to be another precautionary test to rule out something terrible that just couldn’t be. The specialist called me in less than twenty-four hours and asked me if I was in a place where I could sit down. I took the deepest breath I’ve ever taken. She told me that Alex’s muscle test was very elevated and the three lab elevations together pointed to muscular dystrophy.



The wave of events and emotions that followed that moment are simply indescribable. That was the phone call that changed our lives forever. In all of the misfortune, there has been much fortune; the first of which happened the next day. We drove twenty minutes to one of the country’s top children’s hospitals where we met with one of the world’s leading muscular dystrophy doctors and researchers. Someone who has been working in the neuromuscular field for over forty years.



I suppressed my emotions during much of our meeting while Alex innocently played and interrupted us. After a while, though, the tears started streaming down my face. The doctor looked me in the eyes and said, “You know… Alex is only 4 and in a few years, there are going to be some options for him. And I’m not quitting until we find a cure.” I cling to these words every day.



We received the genetic test results at the end of September 2015. It confirmed that Alex had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (“DMD”), the most common form of muscular dystrophy and also one of the most severe. For our family, the membership card had been inked. In short, DMD is a progressive muscle-wasting condition in which those diagnosed are unable to produce dystrophin, a protein essential for the repair and stability of muscle fibers. It is the leading genetic killer of children, occurring in approximately 1 in 3,500 live male births (about 20,000 new cases each year). Because the Dystrophin gene, made up of 79 parts, is located on the X-chromosome, it primarily affects boys. Boys start showing muscle weakness around the age of 3-6 and lose the ability to walk between the ages of 8-12. Muscle strength and function are robbed until young men lose their lives to heart or lung muscle failure in their 20s on average, but often times much earlier. Right now, 

. There is no cure and no approved treatments exist. This is not what any parent wants to hear.



The second fortune in our misfortune was what our doctor called to share with us next. He told me that Alex’s specific break in those 79 parts meant he is amenable to a drug currently in trial that had the chance to restore some dystrophin production. And our lives changed again with one phone call. Suddenly, our story could be different. Alex could have a chance at a better, longer life with DMD. On January 28, 2016, Alex received his first dose of drug through an IV infusion and has received one each week since then.



Alex is too young to comprehend his diagnosis. However, he is aware that he is not able to do things that his friends do. Although he’s adapted and accepted that, it frustrates him. He’s a curious, typical 5yr old now who asks what feels like thousands of questions a day. But the toughest question Alex has ever asked me came when I tucked him into bed right after we found out Alex got into the clinical trial last October. He must have begun to mentally process all the doctors visits and tests. He looked at me and quietly asked, “Mom? Am I going to be ok?”



I am not sure how I would have answered Alex’s question one year ago, three years ago, or ten years ago with this diagnosis. DMD research has been going on for more than 40 years and we just recently had clinical trials open in the last few years for potential treatment options. Alex’s story is unique, though. We went from diagnosis to a potential treatment option within weeks; not years. Our ability to do that was afforded to us by all of the medical professionals working tirelessly for a cure and all the parent-founded organizations in the DMD community fighting every day for treatment options, funding millions of dollars pennies at a time to labs, and marching on capital hill every winter to speak to government representatives. My response to Alex’s question was likely different than other moms before me who may have been asked that same question. My response was, “Yes. We have options and we are going to figure out how to make you better.”



Since diagnosis, I’ve met and networked with many families in the DMD community. The boys are each special in their own way, yet have something in common; something intangible that makes up for what they are missing in dystrophin. They are all very witty, humorous, inquisitive, and smart. They all love very deeply, which you can see in the relationships they have with their families, and they all speak and act freely when among the DMD community. That is their new normal and new-found family.

In January of this year, Dawn joined the board of Little Hercules Foundation (“LHF”), a registered, non-profit organization, founded by another DMD mom four years ago when her son was diagnosed with DMD at the age of five. LHF focuses specifically on fundraising for DMD research and participates in an alliance that collectively funds major research. Groups like this work tirelessly in the DMD community, and Justin and Dawn have dedicated the rest of their lives to doing the same.

This is a cause that both Justin and Dawn have shown extreme dedication to from the very beginning. What has impressed me the most is that they are passionate about the entire cause, and doing what they can to help others that are affected by this disease, not just how their family is directly impacted.

Justin and Dawn are hosting a new LHF event that they intend to grow for years to come. The Little Hercules Golf Classic will be at Scioto Reserve Country Club and Kinsale Golf Club in Powell, OH on October 3, 2016. You can help support their efforts to fund DMD research by purchasing one of the sponsorship packages outlined below. If you live in the area, they hope that you will also consider playing in the event. 

All proceeds go directly to funding research.

It is not often that we have an opportunity to save a life. Your donation could do exactly that. It could provide the new treatment options that Dawn promised to Alex. The DMD community’s ability to continue this fight depends upon organizations like LHF who receive support from donors like you.

Dinner program and auction following golf

(Fee includes: Greens Fee, Cart Fee, Use of Driving Range, Tee Gift and Dinner)

(Sponsorships include some combination of players in the event, event signage and social media exposure or program recognition depending on the level)

Customized or In-Kind Sponsorship Package

For questions, please contact Justin Rezkalla at 614.638.8827 or golfclassic@littleherculesfoundation.org

https://www.facebook.com/littleherculesgolfclassic/

If you would like to make a donation separate from the event above, please click here to donate directly to the 

Little Hercules Golf Classic: Funding Research to End Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

If you’re up and watching the British Open, use the Disqus comments below for your live commentary.

I can’t stop looking at pics of the streaker from 1995

The late-early draw seems to be getting the advantage

This half of the draw winning big right now. Wind lost some momentum, just more than a zephyr at the moment.



— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) 

Ben Curtis with the Tarkenton on the par-4 third today. Made an Aikman on No. 10 yesterday. Tough week. 

Those that woke up early to see some early morning wreckage along the Aryshire coast are disappointed so far. They’ve got long sleeves on (not surprising that ZJ is the only one with hot take mittens on) and the clouds are gray, but Adam Scott still looks dreamy and idyllic.

The lack of ProTraj on this broadcast is appalling.

 ProTracer but the international broadcast does so I'm obligated to share 

Phil is so hot he’s literally shedding a layer as he stuffs one on 7 to open up a four shot lead.

Finally some weather! Zach Johnson looks terrified of the rain drops, and has significantly increased his pace.

Keegan Bradley has arrived on the scene, and we won’t be able to make it out of the day today to start talking about him on the Ryder Cup (no thanks). The rain is about to separate the mudders from the fluff. Why is his face so punchable?

Phil bogies. Stenson bogies. Kaymer is ejecting. A benches clearing brawl just broke out at the Open and mass ejections are coming. Tron needs to wake up.

Phil makes 1st bogey of the week at 12. Only 3 players last 20 years have had longer bogey-free streaks to start 

Patrick Reed arriving to Royal Troon ???? 

Still a whole lot of Zach Johnson going on, hence the lack of updates. Can you imagine, that poor, poor Claret Jug, if it has to spend another year in the Johnson household, getting filled with sparkling water after sparkling water. The horror.

When was the last time somebody non-ironically purchased something from Poulter’s clothing line?

Seriously though, why is Poulter dressed like he's playing 

Phil just wanted a little more sauce at the Postage Stamp today. 

This leaderboard will do just fine, Troon. 

Wind is up to 20 MPH, and all the easy holes from yesterday and from earlier are back into the wind and look impossible. Stenson’s 65 is a safe bet to stand as the round of the day.

Jason Day may have hurt himself. Or he may not have.

Open Championship Live Blog/Chat

Amazingly we’re less than 10 weeks from the beginning of the FedEx Cup playoffs, meaning the 2016 PGA Tour season is getting down to it. And while it’ll inevitably be remembered for Spieth’s double-dunk at Augusta, DJ’s major breakthrough, and whoever contracts zika down in Rio, 2016 has also seen a glut of first-time winners, quickly approaching the most since the turn of the millennium (according to my crack research via Wikipedia). In fact, after Billy Hurley III’s mega feel-good triumph in DC last weekend, the number of first-time winners this year on Tour stands at 14, same as 2011 and trailing only the 15 first-time winners in 2010 and 18 breakthroughs in 2002.

Being five years on from the last season in which we saw at least 14 first-time winners, I thought it might be interesting to take a quick peak at the group of winners from the aforementioned three years (2011, 2010 and 2002) to what they’ve been up to since their breakthroughs.

2011 First-time Winners (PGA Tour Wins/Majors/Earnings on PGA Tour)

As a group, the 2011 first-time winners have won 29 times on the PGA Tour, collecting 3 majors and earning over $182 million in prize-money. Their average age at the time of their first victory was a bit over 29 years old. The oldest at the time of his first victory, Harrison Frazar, is among six of the guys still searching for a follow-up win. Keegan Bradley was the youngest at 24 years old.

When I compiled these brief statistical profiles I started with this group and had no idea how they’d compare to 2010 and 2002. At first blush it seemed like a somewhat underwhelming class, which proved to be both correct and not (keep reading and you’ll understand why). They’ll definitely pick off some more Tour wins, but think I’d bet the under on the group getting to 40/5 (Tour wins/Majors) when it’s all said and done.

Majors-wise, Schwartzel is mega-talented and remains the best bet to snatch another one. Webb will grind his way into contention at a few more US Opens, but I don’t see him really contending outside of that. If Keegan can become proficient with a regular putter, he has the ball-striking game to position himself for another major, and obviously as Scott Piercy showed at Oakmont, a guy like him can be squarely in the hunt for a major any given time, but all-in-all there is nobody I’d say is for sure going to bag another big one.

2010 First-time Winners (PGA Tour Wins/Majors/Earnings on PGA Tour)

These guys have collected 59 wins on Tour, including 12 majors. They’ve banked over a quarter billion in earnings ($263+ million). Four of the current top ten players in the world are in this group, including five future Hall of Famers (Rory, Day, Rose, Watson and Kaymer) and couple more that could have looks before it’s all said and done (Oosthuizen and Haas–Haas, admittedly, a strong reach). Their average age at the time of the first win was just shy of 30 years old, with Rory the youngest at 20 years old and Arjun Atwal the oldest at 37. Like 2011, six of the members in this group have not won again.

This group of 2010 is easily the most impressive group of first-time winners on Tour dating back to 2000. And except for the years Tiger and Jack came out, I have to think it’s right up there as being the most impressive in the history of the Tour. I don’t think 100 combined wins and 20 majors is out of the question, right? Hell, that may be a little low depending on the damage Rory and Day inflict over these next five to seven years. Additionally, Rose and Watson are legit threats to win every time they peg it, Oosthuizen may be the most talented player in the world, and Kaymer’s top gear, when he can get to it, is crazy good.

Last thing I want to point out with this group is that I’ve totally ignored results outside the PGA Tour. Factoring in wins around the world, the success of this group gets really, really heady. Which is fantastic juxtaposition for this next group…

2002 First-time Winners (PGA Tour Wins/Majors/Earnings on PGA Tour)

This group is so much fun. I’m so happy Kuchar is in here. I loved getting to look up Ian Leggatt, Spike Mcroy and Bob Burns. I love that there’s infinitely many more Golf Channel analysts than majors in this group. And I love that Jerry Kelly, KJ Choi and CH3 have combined to bank almost $100 million in earnings (what up, Tiger!). Really, really good stuff.

Combined, the first-time winners of 2002 have won 46 times on Tour, with the aforementioned zero majors. They’ve won just about the same amount in earnings as the 2010 group ($265 million). Their average age at the time of first win was almost 31 years old, the youngest being Kuchar and Howell III at 23, while the oldest was Kevin Sutherland at 37. Half the guys never won again, and I feel very confident in the wording of that.

Can this group get to 50 wins? Can Kuchar win four more times? Maybe CH3 snags one, or perhaps a rejuvenated Luke Donald? I don’t know, I think it will be very close. What I don’t think will be particularly close is guessing this group remains major-less.

What will this group of first-time winners look like in five years? They already have a major with Willett’s Green Jacket. Who are the other guys with major talent? Who are the (most likely) six to eight guys who will be stuck on one win five years from now?

Share your thoughts in the comments if you’re so inclined.

First-Time Winners on Tour (2016 vs. Prior Years)

The history of the Bridgestone Invitational may embody the narrative of golf in the 21st century more than any other tournament on the calendar: The dominance of Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods. Along with Muirfield Country Club a couple hours South, Firestone Country Club served as an annual stage for Tiger’s evolution from amateur swashbuckler to GOAT that pushed golf to the front of the national sports discussion, inspired an entire generation of free-swinging young guns, and as outlined by Big Randy, made fellow professionals 

If you look closely, you can see Chucky Three Sticks driving and Justin Leonard riding shotgun (not seen: Tiger in a Buick up ahead).

From 1999 through 2009 there isn’t a course Tiger dominated more often or more effortlessly than the South Course at Firestone. It’s fitting that in the personal and professional turbulence of ’09 with his greatness and his imperfection coming to a head, this week’s event provided the last vintage Tiger performance we’ve seen and maybe the worst as well. The History of the Bridgestone is a history of Big Cat’s dominance and downfall over a full decade.

Full list of Memorial Tournament/WGC-Bridgestone winners in same year:



1999 Tiger Woods
2000 Tiger Woods
2001 Tiger Woods
2009 Tiger Woods



— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelESPN) 

The Bridgestone Invitational is part of the four-tournament World Golf Championships, a group of big-money events that function basically as the Golden Globes to the major’s Oscars. The fields are smaller (typically 70-80), the qualification rules are major-esque (major worldwide tournament winners, top 50 OWGR, recent Ryder/Presidents Cup players), and the rewards for winning one are sweet (huge cash and a three-year PGA Tour exemption). This week’s event takes place at the 7,400-yard 

, South Course at Firestone, a course nicknamed “The Monster” by Arnold Palmer when describing the lengthy par-5 16th hole.

The Bridgestone came into being in 1999 as the WGC-NEC Invitational from the start, Tiger was in charge. He sandwiched two close victories (one shot over Lefty in ’99 and a three-way playoff in ’01) around an avian massacre in 2000 that sent the area into an ecological fallout. Per Kyle Porter, 

 was his best and saw him post tournament records in Akron for aggregate low score (259) and lowest score to par (-21) as he blitzed the field by 11 shots and provided us all with this signature shot in the dark:

Over the next eight years, Tiger won four more times on ‘The Monster’ and only finished outside the top 10 once. The relationship between Tiger and Firestone looked a bit like this:

Tiger’s win at Firestone in 2009 was vintage Cat and a performance I now realize I took for granted. Middling rounds of 68 and 70 had Tiger at -2, five shots back of Paddy Harrington, going into the weekend. The Irishman, who was in the midst of a swing change but had won the final two majors of ’08, posted a cheeky 67 to take a three-shot lead into the final day.

After a flawless front nine 5-under par 30, back to back bogeys at 13 and 14 left him one shot back. But, the 667-yard 16th that Arnie once famously tripled reared up and bit Paddy, gouging him for a snowman and handing the lead to Big Cat, who pounce on the opportunity. Another bird at 18 gave Tiger a 3-shot victory that looked more comfortable than it felt.

The same could be said for Tiger’s personal life later that year.

Tiger’s 2010 return was turbulent at best but his return to the Bridgestone was an absolute disaster.

Pic of Tiger Ejecting over Northeast Ohio

 firing an eighteen over par, 78th place finish (in an 80-player, no-cut field). His worst finish (barring MCs) since his very first tournament as a pro in 1996. This quote from Harig’s piece linked above is pretty indicative of Tiger’s mental state:

“Asked what he needs to do to turn it around, Woods said, ‘I need to hit the ball better, I need to chip better, I need to putt better and I need to score better.’” It must be bade when Tiger doesn’t even answer with technical or military #jargon.

It’s hard to say it’s been all downhill, but there certainly haven’t been many classic Big Cat performances at Firestone (or elsewhere) since his 2009 victory. Outside of his win during a semi-resurgent 2013 season, he’s finished T37, T8 (back-doored with a Sunday 66), WD, and NQ (not qualified). To add insult to career injury, the 2011 Bridgestone was the tournament where former caddie Stevie Williams captured a win he called “

, and I sincerely mean that,” while on the bag of Adam Scott.

And while he’s worked through more glute activations, chip yips, and release patterns than most golfers go through in a lifetime, the young thoroughbreds have arrived and are ready to run. As the tournament’s qualifications are the definition of “What have you done for me lately?” (minus the glacial OWGR), I wonder if Tiger will ever tee it up at Firestone competitively again…

Tiger's Track: Quick History of the Bridgestone Invitational

). After some pizza, whiskey, and a few hours sleep, we were off for more incredible golf at The K Club.

For long time readers and followers, it is no secret that one of the many jokes that I beat to death is the futility of the 2006 Ryder Cup team. The mid-2000’s were dark, dark times in American golf. The Chris Riley led 2004 team was bludgeoned 18.5-9.5 on home soil, and to avenge this loss, the U.S. sent a team that included Vaughn Taylor, Brett Wetterich, J.J. Henry, Scott Verplank, Stewart Cink, Chad Campbell, and David Toms over to the K Club to face an absolutely stacked European team. They were predictably annihilated yet again by a score of 18.5-9.5. An 8:20 tee time on the morning of June 25 and a match against a European was the moment I’ve been waiting a decade for: the chance to retaliate the Massacre at the K-Club.

Before you even reach the clubhouse, you can feel the ghost of Brett Wetterich in the cool morning breeze. The grounds of the resort are huge, with a castle like gate entrance that you pass through from the road. You pass the massive luxury hotel, the hotel parking, and the enormous practice area (a rarity in European golf) to reach the car park near the clubhouse. Inside the stunning clubhouse, dozens of pictures line the walls celebrating the 2006 European victory, and reminding you of the futility of that U.S. team. It looks like a Ryder Cup museum, and I could have easily spent an extra hour in there just looking at the artifacts and the pictures of Michael Jordan, Bill Clinton, Elin, and the all brown scripting worn by the guys whose country colors are red, white, and blue. It’s really, really well done, and helps set the scene for the championship course that you’re about to play.

You would be hard pressed to find two courses that have a more polarizing style of play than The Island Golf Club and The K-Club. The Palmer course is set inland, and consists of a layout that is much more consistent with the style of golf I am familiar with. The sea winds, rough terrain, unpredictable bounces, and challenge of the elements do not exist here, but the challenge remains.

If I were to use one word to describe the course, I would say “lush.” Ireland is infamous for their weather systems and their precipitation, and while the timing of those showers may get you wet on the course, it can also lend huge favors to the golf course itself. The first thing you notice about the course is that there is hardly a blade of grass out of place. Similar to other Arnold Palmer designs you see in the states, the fairways are wide and friendly, but you still need to find them, as the rough is thick and grabby. If you do find the fairway, it’s hard to not compress the ball purely off the perfectly manicured grass, launching a pelt in the air far enough that it deserves it’s own ProTracer.

The story gets even better once you get to the putting surface. Smooth, fast, and very readable surfaces leave you with no one to blame but yourself for any missed putts. The greens are soft and receptive, which helped a ton on pitches around the green in addition to holding a well struck iron approach in its place. While the condition of the greens certainly helps, this is not to say that the complexes are not challenging, as I can’t recall having even one dead straight putt. The combination of the purity of the roll-out and the difficulty of the slopes provides as fair of a challenge as you can hope for on the greens, and it helped a lot with my confidence standing over a 12 foot putt.

I’ve been fortunate enough to play what I consider to be a decent amount of championship golf courses, and a common feeling I get when playing these places is that everything just seems a little bit bigger. Bigger distances between holes, wider fairways, bigger bunkers, and overall sense of grandeur in the atmosphere. The K Club is no exception to this. We played the furthest back tees that were setup (white tees, 6,815 yards), and with the ball not rolling out at all, a premium was placed on getting a ball a ways down in the short grass. The wide fairways encourage you to hit driver and swing away (the polar opposite of our round on the previous day), yet at each tee box we found ourselves gazing in amazement at where the pros play some of these holes from.

I always try to never lose perspective over how good those guys are, but sometimes it takes a round at a course they actually play to give you that real life example that you need to humble yourself. Specifically, the shot that Rory hit on 16 at this year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, while it was even impressive to see on TV, in person it borders on unfathomable. From 270 yards, into the wind, he knocked it on to what is basically an island green, which setup a critical birdie that helped lead to him winning his national title. The golf course itself stands on its own, but when you add in the memories of the things that have happened there, and the experience is even richer.

Obviously I couldn’t leave the grounds without trying 

 from May, which was voted as the shot of the month on the European Tour for the month.





— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) 

I was planning on throwing a ball down from the general area and trying it just for fun, but ended up busting a drive into the wind that put me about 265 out, so I had a real go at it. Wind was slightly hurting, and mostly off the left, so I just let one loose. Haters will say it’s fake.

Had to try the @rorymcilroy shot from 265 on the 18th at @thekclubireland. Haters will say it's fake.

A video posted by No Laying Up (@nolayingup) on Jun 25, 2016 at 5:02am PDT

I played what was easily my best round of the trip at the K-Club. Thanks to 

, I was finding the slot with the driver, and playing from pretty much the middle of the fairway on every hole. Some horrific 7-irons and a quad kept me from posting a good score, but as it was my third round in the last ten months, I was happy to post a 77. I closed Barry out, and now I can rest peacefully knowing that the 2006 Ryder Cup has been avenged.

(And for the record, my actual shot on 18 ended up here:)

We closed the morning with the standard pint of Guinness, and grabbed some lunch in the Clubhouse before making our way back towards the sea for the afternoon round.

No Laying Up

Writing

#TourSauce Roundup for PGA Championship Week

A Window into No Laying Up

2016 PGA Championship Preview

Dublin, Ireland Golf Trip, Part III: Portmarnock Golf Club

Little Hercules Golf Classic: Funding Research to End Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Open Championship Live Blog/Chat

First-Time Winners on Tour (2016 vs. Prior Years)

Tiger's Track: Quick History of the Bridgestone Invitational

Dublin, Ireland Golf Trip, Part II: The K-Club

Dublin, Ireland Golf Trip, Part I: The Island Golf Club

2016 Birdies for the Brave: Event Recap

The Scattershot Story of The Sub-Prime Open

Quicken Loans National Preview

More Pro-Tracer Please

Best Tweets from 2016 U.S. Open Sunday

Day 1 2016 U.S. Open Coverage

2016 US Open Preview

Memorial Tournament Recap