Read The Divot

09/25/2026

Snedeker had six picks and 15 to 17 guys with a real case. He went with his gut on Jackson Koivun and Bridgeman. J.J. Spaun went to Wentworth with a chip on his shoulder and won the BMW PGA Championship by closing birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie over the last five.

Third American to ever win there. Four wins worldwide, three in the last 15 months. Watching the Presidents Cup from the couch.

Honest question for the group: did Sneds get this one wrong, or is Bridgeman's 61 in Asheville the answer?

The rest of this week's issue:

- LIV owes its players roughly $400 million and is asking a bankruptcy court to pay them in equity instead
- Bushnell's iON Elite is the first watch with their slope numbers, now $189.99 (with one battery spec you should read before buying)
- Tom Fazio has a 1,270-acre multi-course project inside Chatham Park, 40 minutes from Raleigh, no word yet on public access
- Coharie CC in Clinton finally has all 18 open, new TifEagle greens, $45-55 with cart

Read the full issue here: https://www.readthedivot.com/p/spaun-wentworth-presidents-cup-snub

Free every Tuesday if you subscribe.

J.J. Spaun won Wentworth after his Presidents Cup snub. Plus Bridgeman's Asheville 61 and a 1,270-acre Fazio community in the Triangle's Chatham Park.

09/09/2026

Team USA brought seven of the world's top 10 amateurs to Lahinch, swept Sunday morning foursomes in a gale, and led by three going into singles. Then GB&I won the first four singles matches and never gave it back.

It ended with Josh Hill standing over a three-footer on 18 against his own Tennessee teammate. He said he was shaking. He made it. First GB&I win since 2015, and the next one is at Ocean Forest in Georgia.

That's the lead this week, but there's a lot in this one:

- Thriston Lawrence came from six back with a bogey-free 62 and outlasted Paul Casey in a four-hole playoff at Crans
- LIV's staff was let go on September 1, and a Chapter 11 filing could land within days
- Cobra's DS-Adapt LS is fast, but if you swing 95 it's the wrong club, and we explain why
- Another Nine claimed 14 NC territories, including Raleigh, Cary, Durham and Chapel Hill
- The CGA is running a free GHIN Challenge at River Ridge through October 15. Post your score, tap join in the app, that's the whole entry
- Fort Bragg is closing Stryker on Sept. 30 after nearly 80 years

Read the full issue here: https://www.readthedivot.com/p/walker-cup-gbi-comeback-lahinch

If you've played Stryker, tell us about it in the comments. You've got three weeks left to get one more round in.

08/25/2026

A Raleigh kid just beat Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau on the final hole of LIV's season finale.

Michael La Sasso, 22, out of St. David's and NC State before Ole Miss, shot 60 on Friday and hit every green in regulation Sunday. He pitched to a foot on 18 to tap in the winner at 18 under. Youngest winner in LIV history.

But here's the catch nobody's talking about: he walked away from a likely PGA Tour University spot when he left Ole Miss for LIV in January. So he has zero Tour status right now, and this might have been the last LIV event ever played.

We've got the full story, plus Yamash*ta's nine-shot demolition on the LPGA, Wyndham Clark's third win nobody remembers, and three Triangle players at East Lake this week.

Read it here: https://www.readthedivot.com/p/la-sasso-beats-rahm-liv-golf-indianapolis

08/06/2026

You cannot script links golf.

Esther Henseleit drains a 40-footer on the last to force a playoff at Royal Lytham. Then on the second extra hole, her tee shot hits a course marshal's leg and kicks into a gorse bush. She pitches out, makes bogey, and Shiho Kuwaki two-putts for the title.

First LPGA win. First major. $1.5 million. And an LPGA membership she didn't even have when she woke up Sunday.

Only 11 of the 68 players who made the cut broke par all week. That's the kind of test that makes a champion.

This week's issue has the full playoff, Thorbjornsen saving his season in Detroit, LIV playing for $30M while quietly killing its own finale, and a deep Carolina contingent heading into Wyndham week at Sedgefield.

Read it here: https://www.readthedivot.com/p/kuwaki-aig-womens-open-royal-lytham-playoff

07/28/2026

Scottie Scheffler went bogey-free for 63 on Sunday at TPC Twin Cities. He never got within three of the lead.

The guy who held him off is 21 years old, was making his third start as a professional, and missed the cut at the John Deere three weeks ago. Jackson Koivun closed 66, finished at 25-under 259 for a tournament record, and never blinked while the whole gallery was telling him Scottie was coming.

$1.58 million, 500 FedExCup points, and a 124-spot jump to 70th — the last playoff position.

Also in this issue: Jerry Kelly birdies the last at Gleneagles to win a senior major at 59, Lucas Herbert shoots 30-under at LIV UK (and still can't be picked for the Presidents Cup), Bettinardi builds the mallet for people who hated zero torque, a $129.99 forged wedge with tour spin numbers, Paul Simson's 50th CGA title at 70-plus, Terry Sanford winning high school nationals at Pinehurst by 12, and Wyndham week in Greensboro.

Read the full issue:

Jackson Koivun closed bogey-free to win the 3M Open at 25 under in his third pro start, three clear of Scottie Scheffler's Sunday 63. Plus: Kelly's senior major at 59, Herbert's 30-under LIV record, a $129.99 Maxfli wedge, and Triangle golf from Raleigh to Pinehurst.

07/21/2026

Ryan Fox rolled in a 12-footer on the 72nd hole at Royal Birkdale to win The Open. First major, at 39, on the hardest hole on the course.

Five players held a share of the lead Sunday. Fox was the only one who kept his nerve. And spare a thought for Cameron Young, who fired a 64, sat in the clubhouse for two hours, and finished one back. Same story as St. Andrews in 2022.

We've got the full Sunday breakdown, plus the Srixon ZXi irons that were in Fox's bag and the Callaway Opus wedges quietly winning the wedge wars.

Read the full issue: https://www.readthedivot.com/p/ryan-fox-wins-open-championship-royal-birkdale

07/16/2026

Golf's a funny game. Haeran Ryu fired an 11-under 60 on Saturday, the lowest round in major championship history. Then on Sunday she didn't make a single birdie until the 72nd hole. That one putt forced a playoff, and she won it. Second major in 13 days, right after a six-week medical layoff.

Meanwhile Brooke Henderson made a hole-in-one AND three eagles in the final round and still lost. Brutal.

This week's issue also covers Tom Kim's drought-ending win in Scotland, Scottie Scheffler's first missed cut in 78 events, LIV filing actual layoff notices, the new PING G440 K, and a heads-up for Triangle golfers: all three university courses are under the knife this summer. Plan your rounds accordingly.

Read the full issue here: https://www.readthedivot.com/p/haeran-ryu-evian-championship-second-major

What's more impressive, the 60 or grinding out a win with zero birdies through 17?

07/07/2026

Gotterup won the John Deere Classic while standing on the practice range.

He closed with a 62 to erase a five-shot deficit, then watched Ben Kohles — needing a par on 18 to force a playoff — tug a three-quarter 8-iron straight into the pond. Double bogey. Same heartbreak Kohles took at the Byron Nelson two years ago.

We've also got Harrington tying a 46-year Senior Open record, the Titleist driver most 10-to-20 handicaps should actually be buying (hint: it's not the players' model), and an honest verdict on that $800 rangefinder.

Full issue here: https://www.readthedivot.com/p/gotterup-wins-john-deere-classic

06/30/2026

Promotion and relegation is coming to the PGA Tour in 2028.

Two series. A top tier of ~23 events with $20M+ purses, and a Challenger Series below it. At least 20 players move up each year, and the top 90 keep full status. That cutoff line is going to define every borderline pro's August.

We break down what's actually confirmed (not much of the map yet) and why this is the biggest change to the pro calendar in years.

Plus: Hovland over Scheffler in a Monday playoff, Haeran Ryu's wild comeback from 10 back to win her first major, and a Raleigh junior who just did something nobody ever has.

Read the full issue:

The PGA Tour will split into two series with promotion and relegation starting in 2028. Plus: Hovland beats Scheffler in a Travelers playoff, Haeran Ryu's ten-shot comeback major, Mizuno's new face tech, and Triangle golf from Raleigh to Charlotte.

06/26/2026

Every golf crew has that one person who plans the whole trip. Tee times, the house, who's driving, who still owes from last year.

The Golf Trip Planner takes that off their plate. It splits everything fairly, handles the who-owes-who math, and builds a clean settlement card you can drop in the group chat. There's even a built-in option to comp the organizer so they play for free as a thank-you.

Tag the buddy who always ends up running the trip.

$9.99: readthedivot.gumroad.com/l/golf-trip-planner