Rickie’s Orange Energy Is Very Real

👋 Hey, golf fans,

It is hard to pinpoint exactly where oranges originated. A recent study, however, indicates that 25 million years ago, you could find these juicy citrus fruits only in the Indian subcontinent. Rickie Fowler probably thinks of that every day, as obsessed as he is with everything orange. You will see why today. On the other hand, the PGA Tour has changed its content policies, and an unofficial sandbagger investigator is on the hunt.

Let’s get started…

Before we start with today’s edition, let's kick things off with the stories that've been making waves.

Watch: Justin Thomas loses his cool after a particularly bad drive and lets an expletive fly. He’s still in contention, however.

Rickie Fowler defends the spirit and friendship between the members of Team USA. He believes the “country-club-boys” criticism is uncalled for.

Jordan Spieth questions the implementation of a highly polarizing USGA policy. Spieth talks about his personal experience to support his fellow pros.

No matter your age, Quail Hollow has a knack for making you feel washed up. But Rickie Fowler dodged that fate yesterday. Despite battling a sinus infection early in the week. Despite fighting a 102° fever (or 103°? Rickie couldn’t recall) a day before the opening round. Yesterday, he fired a 63 and vaulted 53 spots up the leaderboard to storm into contention at T8.

The secret sauce?

It very well might be Tropicana—the brand he partnered with recently. We kid you not. We sat down for an exclusive interview with Rickie about his “Orangemaxxing”. Rickie says it felt organic, the “orange and orange coming together.” You might see him only once a week donning the orange, but Fowler says orange juice is a staple at his home. But the most interesting part…

The Tropicana twosome. Don’t get confused, we asked Fowler which golf legend he would rather share a glass of Tropicana with. The legend Fowler picked is a nine-time major winner and a 64-time PGA Tour winner. Can you guess who? Your answer is here. The interview is full of such fun moments.

Coming back to Quail Hollow, Fowler’s 63 was the day’s low round by a whopping four shots. He missed just three fairways on Friday, ranked second in both Strokes Gained: Approach-to-Green and Strokes Gained: Putting. Less of a shocker, perhaps, at Quail Hollow, the site of his first Tour win back in 2012.

He’s already stacked up plenty of top-10s recently. Maybe Quail Hollow will see him lift a trophy again. After three years.

Some golf gear simply belongs in your rotation. Like our latest drop that carries a mix of PGA Championship special merchandise, alongside refreshed takes on some of your favorite essentials.

• Fairway Essentials Tee: Brings an easy, lived-in style with classic golf-inspired graphics.

• Championship Polo: Offers a timeless look inspired by the spirit of the 108th PGA Championship.

• Morning Tee Mug: A clean, understated mug that feels right at home on your desk or the clubhouse.

• Course Ready Towel: Keeps things simple: lightweight, dependable, and built for longevity.

This collection was built around the everyday rituals of the game. The early morning tee times. The post-round coffee. And the weekends spent chasing a lower score.

A few thoughtful essentials. Made for people who genuinely love the game.

Effort: Just a few days ago, Bryson DeChambeau vowed he'd pivot to YouTube if LIV folds. A reason being the PGA Tour is too high-and-mighty to budge on its content policies for players. Yesterday, Bryson discovered who was listening (read: PGA Tour). After years, the Tour is loosening its social media straitjacket. Guess who is smiling smirking now?

Among other things, players can now use Tour’s archive without handing over their channel to Ponte Vedra. You can argue that the timing of the decision is just a coincidence, but check out this one guideline, and all your doubts will be gone.

There are some restrictions, but put plainly, Bryson can post a few things on his channel that he might not have been allowed to post before. Like Scottie Scheffler’s can’t-believe-he-did-this reaction to his bunker hole-out, which you can watch below.

If that unfolded at a Tour event today, Bryson could run with it. The hint from Brian Rolapp is clear: Fines aside, no pro should turn away because of something as insignificant as content policies. This puts the ball back in Bryson’s court—now he needs to make up his mind.

Farewell: Mick Doran's caddie resume is a veritable Who's who of golf, looping for the likes of Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Francesco Molinari, and Justin Rose. This week at the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship, Doran hangs up his bag after 38 years, 35 wins, and seven Ryder Cups. His current employer, Eddie Pepperell, called it an "honor" to share the prime of his career with Doran. Best of luck, Mick!

Thursday’s Poll Result: 69.19% of you said the PGA Tour should allow young LIV golfers to sign up for Q-school.

Even the best players fumble with pace control while putting. At times, two-putting from one foot, as you will see here. You don’t need to try the claw grip for better pace control. In the conventional grip, keep in mind these checkpoints, as Hannah Holden suggests:

• Basics: Place your right hand slightly lower than your left. Avoid interlocking wrists to minimize face rotation. Watch where Holden is placing her hands on the grip.

• Advantage: It allows the clubface to return square at impact and offers more control over pace. It also helps if you have a larger arc in your stroke.

• Watch out: Since you’re not interlocking, the left wrist can hinge during the downswing. Plus, the right-hand dominance can override, affecting face angle and, in turn, the start line.

Once you have mastered this, work on the techniques from Scottie Scheffler that we’ve listed below.

Best of Scottie Scheffler Drills to Improve Putting

Yip Strickler and Dan Rapaport spotlighted a few incidents at this season’s U.S. Open qualifiers. The psycho scorecard will make you question reality itself. A 50-over 121 with 16 holes recording double bogeys or worse. There is more—a 43-over-114, a 36-over-108, and a 31-over-102. The last one came courtesy of an octuple bogey, sextuple bogey, a couple more squares, and also a birdie.

Surely these rounds must have taken a loooong time to finish? But Yip, the unofficial sandbagger investigator, questioned another matter: are these vanity handicappers using their real names? It certainly doesn’t look like that once you check this out.

Now, the USGA's been in the game long enough to know golfers aren't all cut from the same cloth. They've got safeguards. If you card a score outside of eight strokes of the USGA Course Rating in a qualifier, expect a letter for Performance Violation. All to keep the major's integrity intact. Yet, it is regularly violated.

Today, we've rounded up the PGA Tour venues you can actually play this season.

5. Memorial Park Golf Course: Memorial Park GC hosts more than 60,000 rounds each year. What else do you need to play here?

4. PGA National: You can start here just by booking a stay at the PGA National resort. Check it out here.

3. Pebble Beach Golf Links: It gives you a chance to walk in the steps of the legends for a fair enough price. Who doesn’t want this view, after all?

2. TPC Scottsdale: The iconic course has both phenomenal entertainment and an excellent test of your skills. It has hosted a ‘major’ as well.

1. TPC Sawgrass: Ever wanted to play at the host of the unofficial fifth men’s major? Fulfill your dreams this week.

Have a golf story to share? Or a tip? Or just a picture of your equipment, garage golf setup? Better still, a hot take on a thorny issue? You can comment below or email us directly here.

Thank you for reading this edition of Essentially Golf.

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