Who you got, Scottie or Schauffele?
+ 2024 British Open was one to relish; Mike Purkey's nine questions; and a look at Tom Weiskopf's Big Sky beauty.
THE STARTER
🏌️ Xander Schauffele won the British Open at Royal Troon for his second major title this year to go with the PGA Championship in May. How impressive was his final-round 65 to walk away with the victory?
🏌️ Is there any doubt that Schauffele is the men’s player of the year?
🏌️ Television ratings in the U.S. for the Open were down 4%, the lowest in a decade, according to Sports Business Journal. Not enough stars on the weekend?
🏌️ Keegan Bradley made his first significant decision by naming Webb Simpson as his first vice captain. Good move?
🏌️ Charlie Woods, with about 500 people – including his dad – in his gallery, shot 82-80 in the stroke-play qualifying at the U.S. Junior Boys. Is Charlie under unfair scrutiny?
🏌️ Blades Brown met and took a photo with Tiger Woods before becoming the medalist at the U.S. Junior Boys. He joined Woods and Bobby Clampett as the only three players to have been medalist at both the U.S. Junior and U.S. Amateur. Should Tiger and Charlie have been watching Brown?
🏌️ The gruesome scars on Tiger’s leg were caught on camera and seen publicly for the first time. Is it clearer than ever that Woods is lucky to even be walking?
🏌️ John Daly II qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine. Is Little John the best player among sons of major champions?
🏌️ Nick Dunlap becomes the first player in PGA Tour history to win as an amateur and a pro in the same year after winning the Barracuda Championship last week and the American Express in January. How big a deal is this?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
A tip of the hat to Royal Troon
The 152nd British Open was a pure delight in many ways — game-changing par-3 holes, leaderboard underdogs, fabled weather and, ultimately, a worthy champion.
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
U.S. puts Ryder Cup trust in Keegan Bradley
The selection of the two-time American Ryder Cup member — 38 and with no prior experience as a captain or an assistant — came as a surprise to many, including The First Call readers. Was it the right choice?
:: The First Call Inbox | Read
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always.
📖 Making the band: An oral history of the Livestrong bracelet
Twenty years ago, a small Texas nonprofit launched a yellow wristband. It became a must-have accessory and a talisman of hope that changed the fight against cancer forever.
:: Emily McCullar | Texas Monthly | July 2024
📖 The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.
:: New York Times | July 2024
📖 Mike Tyson takes one last swing at immortality
At fifty-eight, the once-invincible former heavyweight champ is training for a showdown with an influencer-turned-boxer three decades his junior. What’s driving his return to the ring?
:: Timothy Bella | Esquire | 07.15.2024
📖 Sturgill Simpson walked away from music. Johnny Blue Skies is just getting started
Three years ago, the Kentucky-born singer-songwriter was modern country's reigning psychedelic outlaw. Then a serious injury robbed him of his voice and threw him into a wrenching identity crisis. Now he's back, with a new perspective informed by off-the-grid time in Paris and Thailand, a superb new album, and even a new name. “Sturgill served his purpose," Simpson says, "but he’s dead, he’s gone, and I’m definitely not that guy anymore.”
:: Colin Groundwater | GQ | 07.12.2024
BUSINESS
WEEK IN REVIEW
1️⃣8️⃣ The industry’s names, news and notables that are making the headlines. | Read
ICYMI
This week’s editions of The First Call:
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
LIFESTYLE
THE STYLE LINKS
The Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games are finally here. Enjoy watching. Go Team USA golf.
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
19TH HOLE
Each episode of the “Course of Life” podcast closes with the guest sharing a favorite 19th hole experience.
Savannah Schindler, public relations specialist, Visit Beloit (Wisconsin): “I’ll have to with pizza, and my favorite in Beloit is Tony Maria’s. There’s tons of cheese on it which us Wisconsinites love.”
:: Alex Lauzon | Co-host of “Course of Life” podcast
ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN NOTES
Tom Weiskopf’s final design opens at Spanish Peaks
On July 1, Spanish Peaks Mountain Club opened its new Tom’s 10 golf course, designer and 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Tom Weiskopf’s final contribution to the sport before he passed away in August 2022.
The 10-hole par-3 course pays homage to Weiskopf’s favorite holes from around the world. A member of Spanish Peaks Mountain Club and resident of the Big Sky, Montana, community, Weiskopf designed the club’s original 18-hole championship course and, in his final years, collaborated with longtime partner Phil Smith of Phil Smith Designs on the new par-3 course.
With increasing membership and the opening of Montage Big Sky on its grounds, Spanish Peaks Mountain Club began looking at options for a new golf course in 2020. The effort was led by Ryan Blechta, senior director of grounds and mountain operations.
“Working with Tom on this course was such an incredible experience,” Blechta said. “From our first walk through the woods when he shared his vision till the last time he was on the site a week before his passing, I got to know Tom on not just a professional level, but a personal one, and will always cherish the time spent with him and his wife, Laurie. On behalf of the club, I’m proud to share this course with our members — I truly believe it kept Tom going in his final years.”
In Blechta’s time at Spanish Peaks Mountain Club, Weiskopf had taken to visiting his office on occasion to talk. On one of these visits, Blechta told Weiskopf of the club’s desire to expand and Weiskopf said he knew the perfect location for a par-3 course, a 35-acre site where he liked to walk his dog among the timber, streams and wetlands. Soon, the two were scouting the site on foot with Weiskopf describing potential locations for tees and greens.
The club broke ground on the course in summer 2021. Weiskopf brought in Smith throughout the design and construction process. Smith worked for Weiskopf for many years and continued to partner with him after starting his own company. Frontier Golf was the primary contractor. Construction took three summers because of the complexity of the project and its elevation at over 7,000 feet.
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020, Weiskopf was undergoing treatment during the initial design and construction of the course. In spring 2022, when his cancer returned, a second shaper was brought in to speed up the process. Weiskopf was able to work on the course until the week leading up to his passing in August 2022 and approved all but the final hole.
Spanish Peaks Mountain Club dedicated the course to Weiskopf with the name Tom’s 10 paying homage to the British Open winner’s favorite par-3 holes from around the world. Holes include the original 18th at the club, seventh at Pebble Beach, 18th at Loch Lomond, eighth at Royal Troon and 16th at Augusta National. Holes range from 90 to 161 yards and total 1,199 yards. The course has 200 feet of elevation change.
Unique features include a man-made half-acre pond stocked with over 1,000 westslope cutthroat trout — the state fish of Montana on hole 4 — a deep bunker at the front right of the fifth green set to Weiskopf’s 6-foot-3 height and an old log cabin from one of Weiskopf’s properties that was reassembled and converted into a comfort station filled with memorabilia from his career that was donated by his wife, Laurie.
“This new par-3 course really shows off the design principles we used throughout our time working together — It’s a throwback to a lot of fun things we’ve done in the past,” Smith said. “And it was very therapeutic for Tom. Because he lived nearby, he was able to keep his mind off his illness and give the project his personal attention. Being at Spanish Peaks from the inception of the original course till he couldn’t work anymore was such a gift. This final project is a direct reflection of his commitment to his craft.”
Tom’s 10 is open to members of Spanish Peaks Mountain Club and their guests.
RELATED: Design Notes archive
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