Scottie Scheffler goes wild, Theegalas celebrate.
Sahith Theegala, PGA Tour, Getty Images
Hello, friends, and welcome to this week’s edition of the Rogers Report! While I’m bummed that the PGA Tour playoffs are over, I’m looking forward to competing in my first Solheim Cup next week at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. I’ll be going there with my co-worker and friend, Zephyr Melton, so watch out for some fun content from that.
Speaking of team events, Presidents Cup the teams were named on tuesday and i feel really good about both teams.
A few things to note: This is Adam Scott’s 11th international appearance. Thankfully, Instagram now allows you to share more than 10 photos in a single post, or we would have missed Scott’s incredible trip down memory lane.
His hair in 2009 and 2011 was really something. On the other hand, this will be the first Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup without Jordan Spieth or Justin Thomas since 2012, when they were only 19 years old. I’ll miss seeing them in Montreal, but I will really miss Jordan Spieth singing the song he created for Si Woo Kim during press conferences.
Look at that crew. JT and Spieth, along with Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. The good old days!
All right, on to the last week in golf.
Big Week of Theegalas
Sahith Theegala received a lot of attention in the tournament championship for calling a penalty for himselfbut that wasn’t my favorite thing I saw from the 26-year-old in East Lake.
My love for Theegala family, specifically Sahith’s father Murli, started when I watched the first season of Full Swing on Netflix. It’s only grown since then, especially because the Theegala crew always seems to be showing up in full support for their son. Things were no different last week when Sahith’s fan club showed up in custom T-shirts with a banner in hand to celebrate his 100th start on the PGA Tour.
Not that 100 starts is a “small thing,” but it’s so appealing to see Theegalas celebrate all the milestones that come with being a PGA Tour player, not just a winner. Everyone is so supportive. I feel like Team Theegala would show up and cheer for me if I told them I was trying to parallel park in Boston. All things are worth celebrating!
What made Theegala’s 100th start even sweeter was the fact that his brother, Sahan, missed the first day of classes at Seton Hall to watch his older brother do it.
I’m sure his professors figured it out.
The big family week continued at the weekend for Theegalas as Murli turned 60. You know you’re a big deal when you get a birthday call from the PGA Tour. In my observations, they are usually limited to the top earners.
Sahith Theegala
There’s nothing better than some fun decorations and a cake, except maybe a Louis Vuitton wallet (I’m ashamed to admit I had to look up the spelling of that one). Luckily, Murli got both.
Shout out to Theegala’s girlfriend Juju Chan for always providing a behind-the-scenes look at the tour life on TikTok!
Sassy Scottie Scheffler
Further, we have Scottie Scheffler’s sas, but before I get into that, I’ll take a few moments to point out how healthy the world’s #1 family is. Unfortunately, Bennett may not have gotten the memo that his father won $25 million just moments before their East Lake hug; otherwise he probably wouldn’t have cried.
Fortunately he recovered quickly and was able to create the coolest image in PGA Tour history soon after.
Bennett Scheffler saw (or at least was present when) his father won the Memorial, the Voyageurs, an Olympic gold medal and the tournament championship. He already has three pages of photos of himself on Getty Images, so I just know that the Scheffler Family Christmas Card 2024 will put all other Dallasites to shame this December.
And finally, we’ve made our way to Scheffler press conferencewhere he gave a hilarious answer to a question about the fiddle he hit out of the bunker Sunday at East Lake. He answered very verbatim, which was creative and hilarious.
Fair enough, Scheffler! His response reminded me of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, when Baylor senior Taurean Prince gave an equally literal response to how Yale gave back to his team.
Incredible stuff. The best conferences are the ones where you get unexpected answers.
One final note about Scheffler: I saw this Tweet that said he exclusively wore pants as a young golfer because he always wanted to be a pro.
I’ve seen similar stories about other professional players, including Patrick Reed. This is definitely a super fun fact whether everything works, but I’m begging all the little players out there to put on their shorts. You’re more likely to get heat stroke in a Florida summer because you’re wearing khakis than you are to become a professional golfer. Also, LIV allows shorts, so even if you go pro, you can still wear shorts.
My favorite stats
Average result this! Stokes won it! We hear a lot about a handful of statistics on the PGA Tour broadcast each week, but CBS’ Rick Gehman compiled an incredibly detailed list of the 79 pros who led the PGA Tour in at least one statistical category this season.
It just goes to show how deep the talent runs on the Tour. It’s like the opposite of the participation trophy kids get in little league.
Professionals participate in the Curtis Cup
Justin Rose and Charley Hull headed to Sunningdale Golf Club last week to catch up with the Curtis Cup teams, meet fans and watch some golf.
Charlie Hull
I believe this is where the kids would say something like, “Play respects play.” It’s a lot of fun to watch professional golfers participate in other sporting events – whether it’s a completely different sport or another golf tournament. I hope to see some familiar faces off the ropes at the Solheim Cup next week.
FM World Championship
I spent a day at the FM Global Championship last week and wanted to highlight the best thing I saw (besides a lot of insanely good golf shots): A free learning zone for anyone and everyone in attendance. I saw a handful of kids, teenagers, and adults heading to the end of the range at TPC Boston and learning the basics of the golf swing while taking a break from watching the pros. The teaching station was located far down to the right of the range – the same range that the world’s best golfers used to warm up. How good is he?
I attended a few professional golf tournaments as a kid, but I never experienced anything like this. I hope this trend will continue in future events.
