Every Wednesday, SI Golf will rank nine newsmakers from the golf world. Sometimes we'll cast a wide net. Tell us what you think on the SI Golf X account.
1. Scottie Scheffler: We really don’t need an explanation here, but in case you live under a rock, here’s why he’s first on this list.
2. Rory McIlroy: The drop off from Scottie to second is steep (just like the British Open leaderboard), but let’s go McIlroy here. In his homeland, he relished the opportunity to play in front of his home fans all four days at Royal Portrush after missing the cut there in 2019. He might have fallen short of the win, placing T7, but it was a week he’ll never forget, especially because of a 56-foot eagle putt in Round 3 behind a spirited crowd—and a weird moment where another ball popped up after hitting a shot.
3. Shane Lowry: On the same greens he won the British Open on six years ago, he had a turbulent week. In Round 2, he was handed a two-stroke penalty after video review concluded he caused his ball to move in the rough while taking a practice swing on the 12th hole. Then, still reeling from the ruling on Friday, he got sick and finished T40.
4. Bryson DeChambeau: He turned an opening 78 into a T10, gave an insightful solution to golf’s pace of play issue and then revealed he received a note from Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, but wouldn’t reveal what it said. Bradley, though, disclosed to SI that DeChambeau will indeed be on the team. He’ll likely be Team USA’s lone LIV representative.
5. Keegan Bradley: Speaking of Bradley, he finished T30 in Northern Ireland and is now 10th in the Ryder Cup standings, with 12 making the team. More importantly, though, the guy who once claimed he wouldn’t use a captain’s pick on himself if he didn’t automatically qualify is working on tweaking a clause in the captain’s agreement that would allow Bradley to designate one of his assistant captains as the acting captain at Bethpage when Bradley competes. Has this whole captain conundrum gone off the rails?
6. Smylie Kaufman: During the first-round broadcast, the on-course reporter thought his mic was down and abruptly said, “What the f---.” Afterward, with the clip having gone viral, he apologized. Remember, current and future broadcasters, the mic is always hot.
7. Kevin Kisner: After it came out that Wyndham Clark was banned from Oakmont for damaging a locker at the U.S. Open, Kisner, NBC’s in-booth analyst, said on the British Open final-round broadcast: “I’m not sure anybody in the situation handled it properly. Wyndham probably could have nipped that in the bud with an earlier, or justifiable, statement, but locker rooms are supposed to be sacred. Not sure how that picture got out, USGA can help with that. I think if everyone just sat at a table face to face, that situation could go away pretty quickly.” It was an odd take, and many criticized the four-time Tour winner for his comment.
8. Ryan Gerard: The 25-year-old getting his first PGA Tour win at the Barracuda Championship got buried in the British Open news cycle, but Gerard wouldn’t have made this list without the British Open. Here’s why (or read more here): After the Scottish Open, Gerard flew to California for the Barracuda, but was a high-ranking alternate for the year’s final major and was a few withdrawals away from getting in the field at Portrush. Instead of flying back across the Atlantic, he committed to the opposite-field event after agonizing over what to do—and won. Always stick with your first instinct.
9. Ian Baker-Finch: After three decades in golf broadcasting (the last 19 with CBS Sports), the analyst, who won the 1991 British Open, announced his retirement, but will call CBS’s next two Tour events. Congrats on a great career. Does anyone have any predictions or suggestions for who should/will replace him?
Also considered: Chris Gotterup, Harris English, Wyndham Clark, Jon Rahm, Haotong Li, Xander Schauffele, Matthew Fitzpatrick, John Parry, Aphrodite Deng
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Power Nine: Scheffler's Run at History, McIlroy's Happy Homecoming.
