Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we are suddenly in the golf gods’ good graces. After a quarter century of never seeing a hole-in-one, I’ve now seen two in two months after witnessing my buddy Eric Lebowitz, a former Golf Digest employee, jar a 9-iron from 152 yards on West Point’s 13th hole for his second career ace.

Talk about the floodgates opening! That puts him 1 up on me, but still has him trailing his dad, Alan, by one. As Eric said after, it wasn’t the “cultural phenomenon” that my ace was—Hey, his words, not mine—but he’ll take it. And I took a beer from him after. Anyway, let’s talk about everything else happening in golf—including an even more impressive hole-in-one that I didn’t witness.

Hideki Matsuyama: He didn’t make any aces, but he certainly aced the first FedEx Cup event with a two-shot victory at the St. Jude Championship. Things got rocky on that back nine, but Hideki and his fill-in caddie got the job done for his 10th career PGA Tour title and (surprisingly) his first playoff victory:

Hey, when you overcome having your wallet stolen, what’s a few back-nine bogeys? And considering the fact that he was just robbed, it was nice of the golf gods to hand Hideki the biggest check of his life. Matsuyama said afterwards he was looking forward to celebrating at Chick-fil-A, and with that $3.6 million he could probably open up a couple of his own franchises. In the meantime, live it up, Hideki. Just be sure to watch your (new) wallet extra closely.

Brooks Koepka: In a real twist, this guy suddenly cares about non-majors. With a playoff victory over Jon Rahm at the Greenbrier, Koepka now has more LIV wins (5) than career regular PGA Tour titles. And he’s racked up those five LIV victories in less than two years.

Of course, it makes sense for a few reasons. 1.) Regular LIV events pay more than majors; 2.) Regular LIV events have weaker overall fields; 3.) He doesn’t play nearly as much so he has to stay sharp when he does! Anyway, Greg Norman’s signings of Dustin and Phil and Bryson and Rahm received more attention, but Brooks is still the biggest fish LIV ever reeled in. OK, so being motivated by that is a fourth reason for him collecting so many trophies.

Jose Luis Ballester: The rising senior at Arizona State emerged as the next Spanish golf star by winning the U.S. Amateur, something that none of his previous countrymen have accomplished.

But I liked how he kept things in perspective: “Again, they have done many more things than I have accomplished yet. Again, just having my chance to put my name into history, especially doing something that none of the Spaniards did, even the best of the best, it”s pretty special.”

And I also liked his answer about how he still won’t be the big man on campus at Arizona State this fall: “We have Leon Marchand that just won four gold medals. So I’m just going to be like the second guy, I guess (laughter).” How about the Sun Devils? So hot right now.

Being robbed: As in actually being robbed and not just getting a bad bounce on the golf course. Matsuyama was able to overcome the former, but his caddie and coach had a tougher time. With their passports stolen, both had to fly all the way back to Japan from London. Rough. And it’s unclear whether either will make it back in time for next week’s Tour Championship. For caddie Shota Hayafuji, that could wind up costing him literally millions. Crazy.

Jordan Spieth’s season: The three-time major champ has won just twice in the past seven years and will now undergo offseason wrist surgery. Not great. Even worse is that by failing to remain in the FedEx Cup top 50, he isn’t eligible for any of next year’s signature events. Again, we’re talking about freaking Jordan Spieth here! That being said, it was only fitting that he walked in a long putt on his final hole of the season. For double bogey.

Classic Spieth. Get better soon, Jordan. The PGA Tour is certainly a more entertaining product with you around. Even when you’re not at your best.

Tom Kim’s finish to the season: People knock the FedEx Cup Playoffs and there are certainly reasons to do so, but you can’t argue that these guys feel the pressure of having to extend their season. Everyone remembers that time Brandt Snedeker four-putted to miss out on qualifying for the Tour Championship and what Tom Kim did on Sunday in Memphis was just as stunning. Needing to play bogey golf over the final three holes to stay in the top 50 and advance to the BMW Championship, the 22-year-old went five over on those three holes:

Ouch. And Nick Dunlap, who did make the top 50, noted it was probably the most nervous he’s ever been. Playoff pressure! It’s real! Even in golf!

The PGA Tour heads to Colorado for the BMW Championship at Castle Pines, AKA that place they used to play the Sprint International a long time ago. Should be fun to see this place on TV again—and in HD! Meanwhile, the ladies will be at a place that goes back much (much) farther when they play the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews. What a week! And with these tournaments’ different time zones, fans will be able to watch golf literally all day.

Random tournament fact: At 8,130 yards, Castle Pines will be the longest course in PGA Tour history. Of course, it won’t play like that, though, thanks to ALTITUDE. Still, get ready to see some insane distances.

—The BMW winner will be another guy recently robbed: 1 MILLION-1 odds

—The BMW winner will hit a 400-yard drive: Even odds

—Brooks Koepka won’t be watching any golf this week: LOCK

This is also probably the accomplishment of the week. Making a hole-in-one while PLAYING THROUGH?! Anyone who has played through a group before knows just how much pressure you feel to play quickly and get out of the way so making an ace in that spot is absolutely insane. A huge round of golf claps for this guy.

This is, um, something …

And thanks to the reporting of our Steve Hennessey, we have confirmed it’s a real offer. And that at least one golfer seems to have taken the course up on it. Considering I had a situation a few years back after eating at an Ocean City Italian restaurant that had General Tsao’s chicken as a special, I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising.

This isn’t quite playing-through pressure, but playing in front of a big wedding crowd is up there. And this dude chipped in while you could hear vows being exchanged:

Great job on the shot—and an even better job of celebrating quietly!

Yooooo, South Africa looks like a crazy place.

That’s wilder than a National Geographic special!

Congrats to Sam Bradford—yes, THAT Sam Bradford—and playing partner Ben Bench for firing a best-ball 59 (!) to qualify for the 2025 USGA Four Ball Championship at Plainfield Country Club:

And for those looking to hate, that was NOT the slope and rating they played from. Although, even if it was, please don’t hate on a 59. Anyway, we always heard about what a stick Bradford was at Oklahoma and in the NFL and now he’s really proving it. The dude won a Heisman, made $130 million being an OK QB and now he’s this good at golf? It’s really not fair.

What a moment for Taiga Tabuchi, Ryo Hisatsune’s regular caddie, who filled in on Matsuyama’s bag—and got that bag as the kids say. I’m not mathematician, but I know that a 10-percent cut of $3.6 million is $360K. Pretty good work for a temp gig! I’d be bowing to my boss as well. In related news, it was also a big week for my “PGA Tour caddies are interchangeable” movement. Heck, just look at the answer Tabuchi himself gave here:

Thanks to Joel Beall for the screengrab. The movement is picking up steam!

John Daly’s golf cart cooler is unbelievable:

I need one of those stocked with Cherry Coke Zero. (Not an ad.) (But it could be, if you’re interested, Coca-Cola!)

The legend of Johnson Wagner continues to grow. Dude is a WORKER.

“I don’t get free sh–.” Jimmy Ellis, the surprising 39-year-old medalist at the U.S. Amateur, on what separates him from the college studs in the tournament. Good for you, Jimmy. Hope you get some free sh– now after that performance.

Andrew Johnston shot a Friday 63 at the Czech Masters and finished T-23. I’d love nothing more than to see BEEF, one of the game’s great characters, make a big comeback. … Congrats to David Ravetto on winning that event for his first career DP World Tour title. Hey, Wikipedia, get this man his own page now! … And, finally, putting my buddy Eric’s hole-in-one aside, West Point Golf Course is a really cool place:

And it has six par threes, meaning you get six cracks at an ace. So in honor of Club Pro Guy’s Three Jack National, I’ve renamed it Six Crack National. Give it a try sometime—especially if you’re looking to brush up on your American war history.

How badly would I fail the AP American History exam now?

Will another retired athlete become a star on the senior tour?

Will I ever catch Eric in holes-in-one?