The Players Goes Down to the Wire

 👋 Hey Golf Fans,

Nobody saw it coming. Not you, not us. But TPC Sawgrass doesn't pull any punches, and it didn’t this week, either.

Let’s get started…

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Adorable: Si Woo Kim’s toddler, Theo, is the newest adorable munchkin on Tour. Kim cradled his two-year-old to the post-round presser on Friday. Suffice it to say, Theo found our job agonizingly boring. He tried his best—from “violently” shaking the mic to relentlessly interrupting—to break off the pointless discussion about insignificant matters like chipping, driving, and putting. Watch the video below—this is the best 45 seconds you will spend the entire week.

Nostradamus: Kevin Roy made a hole-in-one. Except on the wrong hole. His drive on the par-4 12th veered long and right, bounced once, and dropped straight into a gnarly tree hollow. But you know what’s more hilarious? The marshal who claimed he predicted it—check his wild reaction.

Magnificent: Now for the real hole-in-one. But hold your horses, it didn’t happen on the 17th. Chad Ramey notched his first hole-in-one on the Tour and 45th of the event on the par-3, 13. Listen to the roar of the fans when it finally dropped in.

Sublime: What’s the worst shot you’ve seen pros hit at The Players? Whatever it was, it couldn’t be more nightmarish than Akshay Bhatia’s whatever-you-can-call-it disaster on the par-5 2nd. He was just 42 feet away from the pin after 2nd shot. From there, he took FIVE more strokes to drop the ball. Here is a montage of this trainwreck with a background score.

Absurd: The PGA Tour posted a video of Ludvig Aberg’s tee shot with a timer, claiming the Swede took just four seconds from setup to strike. But the gimmick blew up soon after when everyone spotted an egregious error. Can you spot it too? Even the DP World Tour clocked it. The results are different as expected.

LIV Golf Singapore: Bryson DeChambeau (-5) snagged his first 72-hole title since the 2024 U.S. Open, edging Richard T. Lee (-5) in a playoff. On the extra hole, Bryson's tee shot plunged into the water, handing Lee the golden opportunity. Facing a 2-putt for par, the trophy seemed Lee's for the taking. But the Canadian’s putt lipped out. Watch the brutal moment below—even Bryson couldn’t believe what just happened.

Women’s Australian Open: Hannah Green (-2) shattered Australia’s 12-year drought of a home champion at the national open, edging out Cassie Porter (-10) by one shot. This was her second title with her husband, Jarryd Felton, on the bag. Look how she celebrated the victory.

Heritage Classic: Will Florimo triumphed (-3) at the Heritage Golf & Country Club for his first tour win. And had his first sip of beer after two years—he had taken an interesting vow, as you’ll see here. He stumbled with back-to-back bogeys on the final two holes but still managed to win by two shots over Haydn Barron (-3).

The Serengeti Playoffs: Daniel van Tonder (-9) made two birdies and this brilliant eagle to claim his 13th Sunshine Tour title, edging out the field by two strokes. His final-round 63 rocketed him to 21-under, leaving Wilco Nienaber (-7) and Allen John (-4) to share second at 19-under.

Junior Invitational: Miles Russell, who already has a bunch of astonishing records under his belt, made two eagles for a 5-under 67, becoming the first boys’ champ to snag back-to-back Junior Invitational titles. Asterisk Talley matched him with her own 5-under 67 in the girls’ event to become the first female golfer with multiple victories at Sage Valley.

WATCH: Scottie Scheffler’s Weird Gesture at TPC Sawgrass Goes Wrong →

Tiger Woods’s Curious Move Sparks Speculations →

Golf Channel’s Efforts to Replace Famous Broadcaster Face Backlash →

When dealing with tricky lies, many weekend hackers bottom the club too early, causing fat shots or thin ones. Meanwhile, pros like Sahith Theegala pull off magical shots like this with ease. To replicate this, picture your swing as a semicircle around your body. The low point of the circle must hit right at the ball. That helps with pure contact. Here is one drill to achieve that.

• Grab a pair of gloves. Tuck one into each back pocket of your trousers or shorts. Find a wall at about hip height. Now, shuffle back until you just barely feel the wall touching your hips.

• Imagine the gloves as paintbrushes. On your backswing turn, "paint" the wall by moving your trail hip (right hip for right-handers) back slightly toward the target. Keep your hips in contact with the wall.

• Use the lead-side glove to paint the wall on the downswing with a slight shift toward the target. Follow it with rotation. Watch PGA Coach Chris Ryan demonstrate the drill here.

This drill loads your hips correctly, stabilizes your head naturally, and prevents early hip thrust. Now, try the other ones we’ve listed below.

Five Drills to Improve Your Ball Striking

Essentially Golf brings you handpicked, well-thought-out, and not-to-be-missed recommendations to make your weekend more fun.

🎥 Watch — Min Woo Lee and Jason Day battle each other for a fun round.

🛍 Buy — Alessandro M. Corkscrew can add grace and quality to your home.

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✈️ Visit — Aphrodite Hills hosts a perfect mix of challenging bunkers and manicured fairways.

🔙 Revisit — Jack Nicklaus wins his second The PLAYERS title in 1976.

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